What does teller mean?
The dominant modern meaning of “teller” is a bank employee who receives deposits, pays out cash, and helps customers with other financial transactions. In this sense, the word is neutral and common in British and American English, although “cashier” may also be used for someone who handles money in a business. A teller works behind a counter or through an automated banking system and performs several kinds of transaction, including accepting checks, processing withdrawals, and answering routine account questions. The word also has an older, literary meaning: a person who tells stories or recounts events. Expressions such as “a teller of tales” preserve this sense, while “storyteller” and “narrator” are more natural in general modern use. Although the banking sense now dominates, “teller” originally referred more generally to someone who told or recounted something, showing how an ordinary agent-forming suffix can acquire a specialized occupational meaning.
nounA bank employee who receives deposits, pays out cash, and assists customers with other financial transactions; more broadly, a person who tells or recounts stories.
- A person who tells or recounts stories, especially a narrator or storyteller.
- An employee of a bank or similar financial institution who handles deposits, withdrawals, and other customer transactions.
"The bank teller asked whether I would like to withdraw cash or deposit a check."
"The bank teller counted the notes carefully before passing them across the counter."
"The old sailor was an engaging teller of tall tales."
The standard plural of the banking noun is “tellers,” as in a reference to multiple bank employees.
"Two tellers were available to help customers with their transactions."
Today a teller handles money, but the word originally meant someone who simply told stories.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does teller come from?
“Teller” was formed in Middle English from “tellen,” meaning to tell, count, or narrate, together with the agent suffix “-er.” “Tellen” developed from Old English “tellan,” with roots shared by words such as “tale” and “tally.” The older sense referred to a narrator or person who recounted something, while the specialized banking sense arose later as banks adopted the term for employees who counted and handled money.
How teller is actually used
In banking, “teller” is standard terminology in British and American English. Its older storytelling sense is literary or dated and most often occurs in the phrase “a teller of tales.”