Having a tail of a specified kind or being followed closely. Can describe animals with tails or someone being secretly followed or monitored.
Middle English, from Old English 'tægl' (tail) + '-ed' suffix. The surveillance meaning emerged in early 20th century American slang, metaphorically comparing following someone to a dog's tail following its body.
The dual meaning of 'tailed' perfectly captures how language evolves through metaphor - from a simple physical description to a covert activity. Detective novels popularized the surveillance meaning, though real investigators rarely use such obvious terminology.
Complete word intelligence in one call. Free tier — 50 lookups/day.