What is the Latin word for tell?

The usual Latin words for “tell” are dīcō, ēnūntiō, narrō; also commemorō, numerō, dīnumerō. The right choice depends on the sense; see the distinctions below.

English → Latin

“tell” in Latin

dīcōto say, talk, speak, utter, mention; to declare, state; to tell ēnūntiōto say, reveal or disclose; to report, express or declare narrōto tell, say, relate; to describe, report, recount; to state the facts of a case commemorōto recall; to remember; to mention, relate, recount numerōto count, enumerate; to pay, count out; to reckon, esteem dīnumerōto count, enumerate or calculate

Riddle & Arnold A Copious and Critical English–Latin Lexicon, 1864

tell

To utter, speak, say, dicere: rem verbis exsequi or enuntiare, Vid. SPEAK, SAY.

To narrate, relate, narrare: commemorare: aliquem de re certiorem facere: I tell you this in perfect confidence, haec tibi soli dicta puta; haec tu tecum habeto; hoc tibi in aurem dixerim; arcano tibi ego hoc dixi; hoc lapidi dixerim (☞ not sub rosa hoc tibi dixerim, which is not Latin). Vid. INFORM, NARRATE, RELATE.

To count, numerare: numerum inire: dinumerare. Vid: COUNT.

Quick answer

What is the Latin word for tell?: The usual Latin words for “tell” are dīcō, ēnūntiō, narrō; also commemorō, numerō, dīnumerō. The right choice depends on the sense; see the distinctions below.

Entry from J. E. Riddle & T. K. Arnold, A Copious and Critical English–Latin Lexicon (rev. C. Anthon, New York: Harper, 1864), digitised by Fergus J. P. Walsh, CC BY-SA 4.0; Latin markup adapted by latindictionary.co.