telling
nounEtymology Gerund from the verb tell, from tell + -ing.
1
The act of narration.
2
The disclosure of information.
- There may he sit and smile, or creep among the ships, or moan and sigh round islands in his great content—the miser lord of wealth in gems and pearls beyond the telling of all fables.1905, Lord Dunsany [i.e., Edward Plunkett, 18th Baron of Dunsany], The Gods of Pegāna, London: [Charles] Elkin Mathews, […], →OCLC, page 16:
3
Archaic Counting, numbering.
4
In the negative Ability to determine.
- "One white man." said Bill, after a brief inspection. "Out on his line, I s'pose, and there's no tellin' when he'll be back. So we won't wait. We'll just serve notice on him."1922, A[rthur] M[urray] Chisholm, A Thousand a Plate:
- Synonyms
- enumeration