anecdote
[an-ik-doht]
- a short account of a particular incident or event, especially of an interesting or amusing nature.
- a short, obscure historical or biographical account.
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Origin of anecdote
1670–80; < New Latin anecdota or French anecdotes < Late Greek, Greek anékdota things unpublished (referring especially to Procopius' unpublished memoirs of Justinian and Theodora), neuter plural of anékdotos, equivalent to an- an-1 + ékdotos given out, verbal adjective of ekdidónai to give out, publish (ek- ec- + didónai to give)
Synonyms
See more synonyms for anecdote on Thesaurus.comstory, yarn, reminiscence.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for anecdota
Historical Examples
A volume of Anecdota Brentiana was edited by Pressel in 1868.
Bekker's Anecdota include mention, also, 135 of the wooden seats of this temporary theatre.
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 GrotesqueThomas Wright
anecdote
- a short usually amusing account of an incident, esp a personal or biographical one
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Word Origin
C17: from Medieval Latin anecdota unpublished items, from Greek anekdotos unpublished, from an- + ekdotos published, from ekdidonai, from ek- out + didonai to give
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
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Word Origin and History for anecdota
anecdote
n.
1670s, "secret or private stories," from French anecdote (17c.) or directly from Greek anekdota "things unpublished," neuter plural of anekdotos, from an- "not" (see an-) + ekdotos "published," from ek- "out" + didonai "to give" (see date (n.1)).
Procopius' 6c. Anecdota, unpublished memoirs of Emperor Justinian full of court gossip, gave the word a sense of "revelation of secrets," which decayed in English to "brief, amusing stories" (1761).
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper