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definitions

factoid

[fak-toid]
|

noun

an insignificant or trivial fact.
something fictitious or unsubstantiated that is presented as fact, devised especially to gain publicity and accepted because of constant repetition.

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Origin of factoid

First recorded in 1973; fact + -oid
Related formsfac·toi·dal, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

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British Dictionary definitions for factoid

factoid

noun

a piece of unreliable information believed to be true because of the way it is presented or repeated in print

Word Origin for factoid

C20 (coined by Norman Mailer): from fact + -oid
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
Word Origin and History for factoid
n.

1973, from fact + -oid, first explained, if not coined, by Norman Mailer.

Factoids ... that is, facts which have no existence before appearing in a magazine or newspaper, creations which are not so much lies as a product to manipulate emotion in the Silent Majority. [Mailer, "Marilyn," 1973]
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper