different between telling vs description

English

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?t?l??/
• Rhymes: -?l??

Etymology 1

Verb

telling

1. present participle of tell

Adjective

telling (comparative more telling, superlative most telling)

1. Having force, or having a marked effect; weighty, effective.

2. Revealing information; bearing significance.
3. Serving to convince.

Derived terms

• tellingly
• tellingness

Etymology 2

Gerund from the verb tell, from tell +? -ing.

Noun

telling (plural tellings)

1. The act of narration.
2. The disclosure of information.
3. (archaic) Counting, numbering.
4. (chiefly in the negative) Ability to determine.

Synonyms

• (counting, numbering): enumeration; see also Thesaurus:counting

Anagrams

• gillnet

Dutch

Etymology

From tellen +? -ing.

Pronunciation

• Hyphenation: tel?ling

Noun

telling f (plural tellingen, diminutive tellinkje n)

1. counting, count

Derived terms

• jaartelling

Norwegian Bokmål

Etymology

From telle +? -ing.

Noun

telling f or m (definite singular tellinga or tellingen, indefinite plural tellinger, definite plural tellingene)

1. counting, a count (act of counting)

Derived terms

• folketelling
• nedtelling

See also

• teljing (Nynorsk)

References

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

West Frisian

Etymology

From telle +? -ing.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?t?l??/

Noun

telling c (plural tellingen)

1. counting, count

Derived terms

• jiertelling

Further reading

• “telling”, in Wurdboek fan de Fryske taal (in Dutch), 2011

English

Etymology

From Old French description, from Latin d?scr?pti?, noun of action of d?scr?b? (“I describe”).

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /d??sk??p??n/

Noun

description (countable and uncountable, plural descriptions)

1. A sketch or account of anything in words; a portraiture or representation in language; an enumeration of the essential qualities of a thing or species.
2. The act of describing; a delineation by marks or signs.
3. A set of characteristics by which someone or something can be recognized.

   The zoo had no lions, tigers, or cats of any description.

4. (taxonomy) A scientific documentation of a taxon for the purpose of introducing it to science.

   The type description of the fungus was written by a botanist.

5. (linguistics) The act or practice of recording and describing actual language usage in a given speech community, as opposed to prescription, i.e. laying down norms of language usage.
6. (linguistics) A descriptive linguistic survey.

Synonyms

• (characteristics): sort, kind, type, variety

Derived terms

Related terms

• describe
• descriptive

Translations

See also

• prescription
• descriptivism

Further reading

• description in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
• description in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.

See also

• synopsis
• interpretation

Anagrams

• discerption, predictions

French

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin d?scripti?.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /d?s.k?ip.sj??/
• Homophone: descriptions

Noun

description f (plural descriptions)

1. description

Related terms

• décrire
• descriptif

Further reading

• “description” in Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).

Old French

Etymology

From Latin d?scripti?.

Noun

description f (oblique plural descriptions, nominative singular description, nominative plural descriptions)

1. description

Related terms

• descrivre