tele

See also: Appendix:Variations of "tele"

English

Etymology 1

Clipping of television.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈtɛli/
• Rhymes: -ɛli

Noun

tele (countable and uncountable, plural teles)

1. (rare) Alternative spelling of telly (“television, telegraph, telephone, teleport, telecommunication”).
   • 1950, Billboard, volume 62, number 9:

     All three tele skeins are pitching furiously to snag the super Easter Day tele show to be bankrolled by Frigidaire, […]

   • 2019, Helen Thomas, Murder on Easey Street: Melbourne’s Most Notorious Cold Case:

     They were up late, talking and watching television. Peter will never forget what happened just after they had gone to bed. 'It's like it was yesterday. We'd just been watching tele and went to bed at about 2.30 am. […]

Etymology 2

Noun

tele (uncountable)

1. According to Jacob L. Moreno, a mutual connection or rapport between people that is not a mere one-way process like empathy or transference.

Anagrams

• Leet, Teel, leet, teel

Aragonese

Aragonese Wikipedia has an article on:

tele

Wikipedia ^an

Etymology

From tele- +‎ visión.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈtele/
• Syllabification: te‧le
• Rhymes: -ele

Noun

tele f

1. television

   Ixo ye la tele.

   That's the tele.

Synonyms

• (collectively, the programs broadcast via the medium of television): televisión
• (device for receiving television signals): televisor, televisión

Further reading

• Diccionario ortografico de l'aragonés (Seguntes la PO de l'EFA)

Czech

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈtɛlɛ]

Etymology 1

Inherited from Old Czech tele, from Proto-Slavic *telę.

Noun

tele n (relational adjective telecí, diminutive telátko)

1. calf (young cow or bull)

Declension

Declension of tele (t-stem neuter)

	singular	plural
nominative	tele	telata
genitive	telete	telat
dative	teleti	telatům
accusative	tele	telata
vocative	tele	telata
locative	teleti	telatech
instrumental	teletem	telaty

See also

• kráva
• býk
• vůl
• semetrika

Etymology 2

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Verb

tele

1. masculine singular present transgressive of telit

Further reading

• “tele”, in Příruční slovník jazyka českého (in Czech), 1935–1957
• “tele”, in Slovník spisovného jazyka českého (in Czech), 1960–1971, 1989
• “tele”, in Internetová jazyková příručka (in Czech), 2008–2025

Dutch

Pronunciation

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -eːlə

Verb

tele

1. (dated or formal) singular present subjunctive of telen

Anagrams

• eelt, teel

Finnish

Etymology

Short for teleobjektiivi.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈtele/, [ˈt̪e̞le̞]
• Rhymes: -ele
• Syllabification^(key): te‧le
• Hyphenation^(key): te‧le

Noun

tele (colloquial)

1. (photographing) telephoto lens

Declension

Inflection of tele (Kotus type 8/nalle, no gradation)
nominative		tele	telet
genitive		telen	telejen
partitive		teleä	telejä
illative		teleen	teleihin
		singular	plural
nominative		tele	telet
accusative	nom.	tele	telet
	gen.	telen
genitive		telen	telejen telein rare
partitive		teleä	telejä
inessive		telessä	teleissä
elative		telestä	teleistä
illative		teleen	teleihin
adessive		telellä	teleillä
ablative		teleltä	teleiltä
allative		telelle	teleille
essive		telenä	teleinä
translative		teleksi	teleiksi
abessive		telettä	teleittä
instructive		—	telein
comitative		See the possessive forms below.

Possessive forms of tele (Kotus type 8/nalle, no gradation)

first-person singular possessor singular plural nominative teleni teleni accusative nom. teleni teleni gen. teleni genitive teleni telejeni teleini rare partitive teleäni telejäni inessive telessäni teleissäni elative telestäni teleistäni illative teleeni teleihini adessive telelläni teleilläni ablative teleltäni teleiltäni allative telelleni teleilleni essive telenäni teleinäni translative telekseni teleikseni abessive telettäni teleittäni instructive — — comitative — teleineni second-person singular possessor singular plural nominative telesi telesi accusative nom. telesi telesi gen. telesi genitive telesi telejesi teleisi rare partitive teleäsi telejäsi inessive telessäsi teleissäsi elative telestäsi teleistäsi illative teleesi teleihisi adessive telelläsi teleilläsi ablative teleltäsi teleiltäsi allative telellesi teleillesi essive telenäsi teleinäsi translative teleksesi teleiksesi abessive telettäsi teleittäsi instructive — — comitative — teleinesi first-person plural possessor singular plural nominative telemme telemme accusative nom. telemme telemme gen. telemme genitive telemme telejemme teleimme rare partitive teleämme telejämme inessive telessämme teleissämme elative telestämme teleistämme illative teleemme teleihimme adessive telellämme teleillämme ablative teleltämme teleiltämme allative telellemme teleillemme essive telenämme teleinämme translative teleksemme teleiksemme abessive telettämme teleittämme instructive — — comitative — teleinemme second-person plural possessor singular plural nominative telenne telenne accusative nom. telenne telenne gen. telenne genitive telenne telejenne teleinne rare partitive teleänne telejänne inessive telessänne teleissänne elative telestänne teleistänne illative teleenne teleihinne adessive telellänne teleillänne ablative teleltänne teleiltänne allative telellenne teleillenne essive telenänne teleinänne translative teleksenne teleiksenne abessive telettänne teleittänne instructive — — comitative — teleinenne third-person possessor singular plural nominative telensä telensä accusative nom. telensä telensä gen. telensä genitive telensä telejensä teleinsä rare partitive teleään teleänsä telejään telejänsä inessive telessään telessänsä teleissään teleissänsä elative telestään telestänsä teleistään teleistänsä illative teleensä teleihinsä adessive telellään telellänsä teleillään teleillänsä ablative teleltään teleltänsä teleiltään teleiltänsä allative telelleen telellensä teleilleen teleillensä essive telenään telenänsä teleinään teleinänsä translative telekseen teleksensä teleikseen teleiksensä abessive telettään telettänsä teleittään teleittänsä instructive — — comitative — teleineen teleinensä

Derived terms

compounds

• teledemokratia
• telekuuntelu
• teletyö

Further reading

• “tele”, in Kielitoimiston sanakirja [Dictionary of Contemporary Finnish]‎ (in Finnish) (online dictionary, continuously updated), Kotimaisten kielten keskuksen verkkojulkaisuja 35, Helsinki: Kotimaisten kielten tutkimuskeskus (Institute for the Languages of Finland), 2004–, retrieved 3 July 2023

Anagrams

• leet

Friulian

Etymology

From Latin tēla.

Noun

tele f (plural telis)

1. cloth
2. canvas

Derived terms

• tele di ragn

See also

• tiessi

Galician

Galician Wikipedia has an article on:

televisión

Wikipedia ^gl

Galician Wikipedia has an article on:

televisor

Wikipedia ^gl

Etymology

Clipping of televisión.

Noun

tele f (plural teles)

1. (colloquial) TV, telly

Synonyms

• (collectively, the programs broadcast via the medium of television): televisión
• (device for receiving television signals): televisor, televisión

Hungarian

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈtɛlɛ]

• Audio:

  (file)

• Hyphenation: te‧le
• Rhymes: -lɛ

Etymology 1

From Proto-Uralic *täwde. Cognates include Finnish täysi, Estonian täis.

Adverb

tele (not comparable)

1. full (of something -val/-vel), normally with explicit or implied van

   Synonym: (comparable) teli

   Antonyms: üresen, híján

   Tele van a ház pókokkal. ― The house is full of spiders.

Usage notes

This term may also be part of the split form of a verb prefixed with tele-, occurring when the main verb does not follow the prefix directly. It can be interpreted only with the related verb form, irrespective of its position in the sentence, e.g. meg tudták volna nézni (“they could have seen it”, from megnéz). For verbs with this prefix, see tele-; for an overview, Appendix:Hungarian verbal prefixes.

Derived terms

Compound words

• telis-tele

Expressions

• tele van a gatyája
• tele van a hócipője

Adjective

tele (not comparable)

1. full (of something -val/-vel)

   Synonym: (comparable) teli

   Antonym: üres

   Egy tele pohár vizet kaptak. ― They got a full glass of water.

   vízzel tele pohár ― a glass full of water

Etymology 2

Ellipsis of teleobjektív.

Noun

tele (plural telék)

2. (photography, slang) telephoto lens (lens which produces a magnified view of distant objects)

   Synonym: teleobjektív

Declension

Inflection (stem in long/high vowel, front unrounded harmony)

	singular	plural
nominative	tele	telék
accusative	telét	teléket
dative	telének	teléknek
instrumental	telével	telékkel
causal-final	teléért	telékért
translative	telévé	telékké
terminative	teléig	telékig
essive-formal	teleként	telékként
essive-modal	—	—
inessive	telében	telékben
superessive	telén	teléken
adessive	telénél	teléknél
illative	telébe	telékbe
sublative	telére	telékre
allative	teléhez	telékhez
elative	teléből	telékből
delative	teléről	telékről
ablative	telétől	teléktől
non-attributive possessive – singular	teléé	teléké
non-attributive possessive – plural	telééi	telékéi

Possessive forms of tele

possessor	single possession	multiple possessions
1st person sing.	telém	teléim
2nd person sing.	teléd	teléid
3rd person sing.	teléje	teléi
1st person plural	telénk	teléink
2nd person plural	telétek	teléitek
3rd person plural	teléjük	teléik

Etymology 3

tél (“winter”) +‎ -e (“his/her/its”, possessive suffix)

Noun

tele

2. third-person singular single-possession possessive of tél

Declension

Inflection (stem in long/high vowel, front unrounded harmony)

	singular	plural
nominative	tele	—
accusative	telét	—
dative	telének	—
instrumental	telével	—
causal-final	teléért	—
translative	telévé	—
terminative	teléig	—
essive-formal	teleként	—
essive-modal	teléül	—
inessive	telében	—
superessive	telén	—
adessive	telénél	—
illative	telébe	—
sublative	telére	—
allative	teléhez	—
elative	teléből	—
delative	teléről	—
ablative	telétől	—
non-attributive possessive – singular	teléé	—
non-attributive possessive – plural	telééi	—

See also

• tele- (prefix)

Further reading

• (full): tele in Géza Bárczi, László Országh, et al., editors, A magyar nyelv értelmező szótára [The Explanatory Dictionary of the Hungarian Language] (ÉrtSz.), Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, 1959–1962. Fifth ed., 1992: →ISBN.

Italian

Etymology 1

Clipping of televisione.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈtɛ.le/
• Rhymes: -ɛle
• Hyphenation: tè‧le

Noun

tele f

1. (informal) telly (UK), TV

Etymology 2

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈte.le/
• Rhymes: -ele
• Hyphenation: té‧le

Noun

tele f pl

1. plural of tela

Anagrams

• Lete, Letè

Latvian

Pronunciation

This entry needs an audio pronunciation. If you are a native speaker with a microphone, please record this word. The recorded pronunciation will appear here when it's ready.

Noun

tele f (5th declension)

1. female calf, immature cow, heifer

   pērnā tele ― the heifer from last year

   šķirnes tele ― a heifer of good breed

   grūsna tele ― pregnant heifer

   te Tibils visu vasaru turēja savus lopus: divas teles, abas slaucamās govis, aitas un zirgus ― here Tibils kept his animals all summer: the two heifers, both dairy cows, the sheep and the horses

   nopētīju savu ganāmpulki, vai kāda no govīm, īpaši telēm, netaisās laisties blēņās uz zirņu lauku ― he kept an eye on his herd, in case one of the cows, especially the heifers, wanted to play any tricks on the pea fields

Declension

Declension of tele (5th)

	singular (vienskaitlis)	plural (daudzskaitlis)
nominative	tele	teles
genitive	teles	teļu
dative	telei	telēm
accusative	teli	teles
instrumental	teli	telēm
locative	telē	telēs
vocative	tele	teles

See also

• liellops
• govs
• bullis
• teļš, telēns
• vērsis

Norwegian Bokmål

Etymology 1

From Old Norse þeli, þili.

Noun

tele m (definite singular telen, indefinite plural teler, definite plural telene)

1. a frozen layer of soil

   Synonym: klake

Verb

tele (present tense teler, past tense tela or telet, past participle tela or telet)

1. (intransitive, about the ground) to freeze

Etymology 2

From Old Norse þilir m pl.

Noun

tele m (definite singular telen, indefinite plural teler, definite plural telene)

1. a person from Telemark

   Synonyms: telemarking, teledøl

References

• “tele” in The Bokmål Dictionary.
• “tele” in Det Norske Akademis ordbok (NAOB).

Anagrams

• elet, elte, etle, leet, lete, tele-

Norwegian Nynorsk

Alternative forms

• (frozen soil): tållå (Trøndelag) (Snåsa dialect)

Etymology 1

From Old Norse þeli, þili. The verb is derived from the noun. Probably related to Swedish tjäle.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /tæle/

Noun

tele m (definite singular telen, indefinite plural telar, definite plural telane)

1. a frozen layer of soil

   Synonyms: klake, speik

Verb

tele (present tense telar, past tense tela, past participle tela, passive infinitive telast, present participle telande, imperative tele/tel)

1. (intransitive, about the ground or fingers) to freeze

Alternative forms

• tela (a- and split infinitives)

Etymology 2

From Old Norse þilir m pl.

Noun

tele m (definite singular telen, indefinite plural teler or telar, definite plural telene or telane)

1. a person from Telemark

   Synonym: telemarking

References

• “tele” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.

Anagrams

• elet, elte, etle, leet, lete, léte, tele-

Old Czech

Etymology

Inherited from Proto-Slavic *telę.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (13^th CE) /ˈtɛlɛ/
• IPA^(key): (15^th CE) /ˈtɛlɛ/

Noun

tele n

1. calf (young cow or bull)

Declension

Declension of tele (t-stem)

	singular	dual	plural
nominative	tele	teletě	telata
genitive	telete	telatú	telat
dative	teleti	telatma	telatóm
accusative	tele	teletě	telata
vocative	tele	teletě	telata
locative	teleti	telatú	teletech
instrumental	teletem	telatma	telaty

This table shows the most common forms around the 13th century.

Descendants

• Czech: tele

Further reading

• Jan Gebauer (1903–1916), “tele”, in Slovník staročeský (in Czech), Prague: Česká grafická společnost "unie", Česká akademie císaře Františka Josefa pro vědy, slovesnost a umění

Old English

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈte.le/

Verb

tele

1. singular imperative of tellan

Pali

Alternative forms

Alternative scripts

• 𑀢𑁂𑀮𑁂 (Brahmi script)
• तेले (Devanagari script)
• তেলে (Bengali script)
• තෙලෙ (Sinhalese script)
• တေလေ (Burmese script)
• เตเล (Thai script)
• ᨲᩮᩃᩮ (Tai Tham script)
• ເຕເລ (Lao script)
• តេលេ (Khmer script)
• 𑄖𑄬𑄣𑄬 (Chakma script)

Noun

tele

1. locative singular of tela (“oil”)

Portuguese

Etymology 1

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Pronunciation

 

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˈtɛ.li/

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˈtɛ.li/
  • (Southern Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˈtɛ.le/

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /ˈtɛ.lɨ/

• Hyphenation: te‧le

Verb

tele

1. inflection of telar:
   1. first/third-person singular present subjunctive
   2. third-person singular imperative

Etymology 2

Clipping of telemóvel.

Pronunciation

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /ˈtɛ.lɛ/

• Hyphenation: te‧le

Noun

tele m (plural teles)

1. (Portugal, colloquial) clipping of telemóvel
   • 2018, Kenga, “Naife”‎:

     Foda-se, perdi o tele e agora o que é que eu faço?

     Fuck, I lost my phone, now what do I do?

Etymology 3

Clipping of televisão.

Pronunciation

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /ˈtɛ.lɛ/

• Hyphenation: te‧le

Noun

tele f (plural teles)

1. (Portugal, colloquial) clipping of televisão

   Synonym: TV

   Viste o filme que acabou de passar na tele? ― Did you watch the movie that just screened on TV?

Further reading

• “tele”, in Dicionário Aulete Digital (in Portuguese), Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon Editora Digital, 2008–2025
• “tele”, in Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Lisbon: Priberam, 2008–2025

Samoan

Adjective

tele

1. big

Serbo-Croatian

Etymology

Inherited from Proto-Slavic *telę.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /těle/
• Hyphenation: te‧le

Noun

tèle n (Cyrillic spelling тѐле)

1. calf

Declension

Declension of tele

	singular
nominative	tèle
genitive	tèleta
dative	teletu
accusative	tele
vocative	tele
locative	teletu
instrumental	teletom

This word has no plural, but the collective noun tȅlād is used instead.

Related terms

• tèletina

See also

• gleda kao tele u šarena vrata

Slovak

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈcɛlɛ/

Noun

tele

1. locative singular of telo

Slovene

Etymology

Inherited from Proto-Slavic *telę̀.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /tɛ̀ːlɛ/
• Rhymes: -ɛ̀ːlɛ
• Hyphenation: te‧le

Noun

téle n (relational adjective telẹ́čji, diminutive telȋček)

1. calf (young cow)

   Synonyms: (literary) junȅ, (expressive) telȋček

2. (slightly derogatory) fool, greenhorn (a foolish, stupid person, especially because of youth, inexperience)

   Synonym: (expressive) telȋček

Declension

First neuter declension (hard o-stem) , mobile accent, -t- infix
nom. sing.	téle
gen. sing.	telẹ́ta
	singular	dual	plural
nominative imenovȃlnik	téle	telẹ́ti, telẹ̑ti	telẹ̑ta
genitive rodȋlnik	telẹ́ta	telẹ̑t	telẹ̑t
dative dajȃlnik	telẹ́tu, telẹ́ti	telẹ́toma, telẹ̑toma	telẹ̑tom
accusative tožȋlnik	telẹ́to	telẹ́ti, telẹ̑ti	telẹ̑ta
locative mẹ̑stnik	telẹ́tu, telẹ́ti	telẹ̑tih	telẹ̑tih
instrumental orọ̑dnik	telẹ́tom	telẹ́toma, telẹ̑toma	telẹ̑ti
(vocative) (ogȏvorni imenovȃlnik)	téle	telẹ́ti, telẹ̑ti	telẹ̑ta

Further reading

• “tele”, in Slovarji Inštituta za slovenski jezik Frana Ramovša ZRC SAZU, portal Fran
• “tele”, in Termania, Amebis
• See also the general references

Spanish

Spanish Wikipedia has an article on:

televisión

Wikipedia ^es

Spanish Wikipedia has an article on:

televisor

Wikipedia ^es

Etymology

Clipping of televisión.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈtele/ [ˈt̪e.le]
• Rhymes: -ele
• Syllabification: te‧le

Noun

tele f (plural teles)

1. television

   Synonyms: televisión, televisor

Further reading

• “tele”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8.1, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 15 December 2025

Swahili

Etymology

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Pronunciation

• Audio (Kenya):

  (file)

Adjective

tele (invariable)

1. abundant

Western Maninkakan

Noun

tele

1. sun

Yosondúa Mixtec

Etymology

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Noun

tele

1. puppy

References

• Beaty de Farris, Kathryn; et al. (2012), Diccionario básico del mixteco de Yosondúa, Oaxaca (Serie de vocabularios y diccionarios indígenas “Mariano Silva y Aceves”; 46)‎ (in Spanish), third edition, Instituto Lingüístico de Verano, A.C., page 78