anecdote

[ an-ik-doht ]

See synonyms for: anecdote anecdotes on Thesaurus.com

noun,plural an·ec·dotes or, for 2, an·ec·do·ta

[an-ik-doh-tuh]. /ˌæn ɪkˈdoʊ tə/.

a short account of a particular incident or event, especially of an interesting or amusing nature.
a short, obscure historical or biographical account.

Origin of anecdote

First recorded in 1670–80; from New Latin anecdota or French anecdotes, from Late Greek, Greek anékdota “things unpublished” (referring particularly to Procopius's unpublished memoirs of Justinian and Theodora), neuter plural of anékdotos, equivalent to an- an-¹ + ékdotos “given out,” adjective derivative of ekdidónai “to give out, publish” (ek- ec- + didónai “to give”)

Other words for anecdote

story, yarn, reminiscence

See synonyms for anecdote on Thesaurus.com

Words that may be confused with anecdote

anecdote , antedate, antidote

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use anecdote in a sentence

At a rather later date I gave a chapter of additional matter of the same description in my Anecdota Literaria.
A History of Caricature and Grotesque | Thomas Wright
Bekker's Anecdota include mention, also, 135 of the wooden seats of this temporary theatre.
The American Journal of Archaeology, 1893-1 | Various
A volume of Anecdota Brentiana was edited by Pressel in 1868.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 4, Slice 4 | Various

British Dictionary definitions for anecdote

anecdote

/ (ˈænɪkˌdəʊt) /

noun

a short usually amusing account of an incident, esp a personal or biographical one

Origin of anecdote

C17: from Medieval Latin anecdota unpublished items, from Greek anekdotos unpublished, from an- + ekdotos published, from ekdidonai, from ek- out + didonai to give

Derived forms of anecdote

anecdotic, adjective
anecdotalist or anecdotist, noun

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

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