tall: [14] The ancestral meaning of tall is ‘quick’. It is a descendant of Old English getæl ‘quick, ready’, whose relatives included Old Frisian tel and Old High German gizal ‘quick’, and which may go back ultimately to the prehistoric Germanic base *tal- (source of English tale, talk, and tell). By the time of its re-emergence in Middle English it was being used for ‘brave, bold’, but the modern sense ‘of great height’ did not develop until the 16th century.
tall (adj.)
"high in stature," 1520s, probably from Middle English tal "handsome, good-looking; valiant; lively in speech; large, big; humble, meek," from Old English getæl "prompt, active," from Germanic *(ge)-tala- (cognates: Old High German gi-zal "quick," Gothic un-tals "indocile"). Main modern sense "being of more than average height (and slim in proportion to height)" probably evolved out of earlier meanings "brave, valiant, seemly, proper" (c. 1400), "attractive, handsome" (late 14c.).
Sense evolution is "remarkable" [OED], but adjectives applied to persons can wander far in meaning (such as pretty, buxom, German klein "small, little," which in Middle High German meant the same as its English cognate clean (adj.)). Meaning "having a (defined) height," whether lofty or not is from 1580s. Meaning "exaggerated" (as in tall tale) is American English colloquial attested by 1846. Phrase tall, dark, and handsome is recorded from 1906. Related: Tallness.
实用例句
1. He was a tall, thin man with grey hair.
他是个瘦高个，头发灰白。
来自柯林斯例句
2. Lovett was a tall, commanding man with a waxed gray mustache.
洛维特是个威严的高个男人，蓄着灰白的八字胡。
来自柯林斯例句
3. The windows overlooked a lawn of tall waving grass.
窗户外边是一块草地，高高的草随风摇摆。
来自柯林斯例句
4. I'm only 5ft tall, and I look younger than my age.
