raconteur
Americannoun
plural
raconteursnoun
Etymology
Origin of raconteur
1820–30; < French, equivalent to racont ( er ) to tell ( Old French r ( e ) - re- + aconter to tell, account ) + -eur -eur
Explanation
Raconteurs are gifted storytellers, able to spin amusing tales from everyday life. Who is the biggest raconteur in your group? He or she's the one who always tells the best stories — or jumps in when another storyteller isn't being vivid enough. Do you make going to the store to buy groceries a fascinating experience? Do you offer witty observations of the people you pass on the street? If so, you're a raconteur, someone who can regale his or her listeners with riveting stories, usually funny, sometimes dramatic. Raconteur comes from the French word "raconter," meaning "to recount." Note its "eur" ending, signaling its French origin.
Vocabulary lists containing raconteur
National Spelling Bee '14: Prelims Round 2
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100 SAT words Beginning with "R"
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English Words Derived from French, List 9
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
After Aksel Svindal of Norway skiied off the course and failed to finish, Bode the Raconteur was suddenly the craggy, unlikely face of these Vancouver games.
From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 22, 2010
More Jesuitical relations in the bar parlor by Raconteur Mulliner.
From Time Magazine Archive
In a Manhattan boite she appeared briefly with Raconteur Jean Shepherd.
From Time Magazine Archive
He had light brown skin and a pinstriped suit on; beside him was written Joe Raconteur.
From "Shadowshaper" by Daniel José Older
Manny’s, of course, and Raconteur and Ol’ Vernon, along with four other guys Sierra didn’t know.
From "Shadowshaper" by Daniel José Older
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
