anecdote
English
Alternative forms
Etymology
Category:English terms derived from Proto-Indo-European#ANECDOTECategory:English terms derived from the Proto-Indo-European root *deh₃-#ANECDOTELate 17th c., from FrenchCategory:English terms borrowed from French#ANECDOTECategory:English terms derived from French#ANECDOTE anecdote, from Ancient GreekCategory:English terms derived from Ancient Greek#ANECDOTE ἀνέκδοτος (anékdotos, “accounts unpublished”), from ἀν- (an-, “not, un-”) + ἔκδοτος (ékdotos, “published”), from ἐκδίδωμι (ekdídōmi, “I publish”), from ἐκ- (ek-, “out”) + δίδωμι (dídōmi, “I give”).
Virtually identical cognates in other European languages – French anecdote, German Anekdote, Spanish anécdota, among others.
Pronunciation
- (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /ˈæn.ɪkˌdəʊt/Category:English 3-syllable words#ANECDOTECategory:English terms with IPA pronunciation#ANECDOTE
- (General Australian) IPA(key): [ˈæn.ɪkˌdəʉt]Category:English terms with IPA pronunciation#ANECDOTE
- (New Zealand) IPA(key): [ˈɛn.əkˌdɐʉt]Category:English terms with IPA pronunciation#ANECDOTE
- (General American, Canada) IPA(key): /ˈæn.ɪkˌdoʊt/, (/æ/ raising) [ˈɛən.ɪkˌdoʊt]Category:English 3-syllable words#ANECDOTECategory:English terms with IPA pronunciation#ANECDOTE
- (Indic) IPA(key): /əˈnɛkˌɖoʈ/Category:English 3-syllable words#ANECDOTECategory:English terms with IPA pronunciation#ANECDOTE
- Hyphenation: a‧nec‧dote
Noun
anecdote (countable and uncountable, plural anecdotes)Category:English lemmas#ANECDOTECategory:English nouns#ANECDOTECategory:English uncountable nouns#ANECDOTECategory:English countable nouns#ANECDOTECategory:English countable nouns#ANECDOTECategory:English entries with incorrect language header#ANECDOTECategory:Pages with entries#ANECDOTECategory:Pages with 2 entries#ANECDOTE
- A short account of a real incident or person, often humorous or interesting.
- tell an anecdoteCategory:English terms with collocations#ANECDOTE
- relate a short anecdoteCategory:English terms with collocations#ANECDOTE
- 1839, “Commercial Travellers”, in The Merchants’ Magazine, and Commercial Review, volume I, New York, N.Y.: Freeman Hunt, […], pages 30–31:
- Like all travellers, he is full of anecdote, and has at his command the rarest news of the time. […] Generous, convivial, and full of anecdote, the mercantile agent is a good companion, and his conversation never fails to make glad and jocund the society of that otherwise dullest of places, an English stage coach.Category:English terms with quotations#ANECDOTE
- An account which supports an argument, but which is not supported by scientific or statistical analysis.
- A previously untold secret account of an incident.
Derived terms
Translations
Verb
anecdote (third-person singular simple present anecdotes, present participle anecdoting, simple past and past participle anecdoted)Category:English lemmas#ANECDOTECategory:English verbs#ANECDOTECategory:English entries with incorrect language header#ANECDOTECategory:Pages with entries#ANECDOTECategory:Pages with 2 entries#ANECDOTE
- (ambitransitiveCategory:English transitive verbs#ANECDOTECategory:English intransitive verbs#ANECDOTE) To tell anecdotes (about).
- 1879, Eustace Clare Grenville Murray, That Artful Vicar:
- They were all men of the same set, knowing one another intimately, and knowing the same people; so they fell to talking and anecdoting in such pleasant wise that dinner-time approached […]Category:English terms with quotations#ANECDOTE
- 1986, Elliot L. Gilbert, Best Short Stories from the California Quarterly, 1971-1985, page 101:
- Bob anecdoted the circus he and Jimmy had seen that afternoon.Category:English terms with quotations#ANECDOTE
Anagrams
French
Etymology
Learned borrowing from Ancient GreekCategory:French terms borrowed from Ancient Greek#ANECDOTECategory:French learned borrowings from Ancient Greek#ANECDOTECategory:French terms derived from Ancient Greek#ANECDOTE ἀνέκδοτος (anékdotos, “unpublished”). Compare inédit.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /a.nɛk.dɔt/, /a.nɛɡ.dɔt/Category:French 3-syllable words#ANECDOTECategory:French 3-syllable words#ANECDOTECategory:French terms with IPA pronunciation#ANECDOTE
Category:French terms with audio pronunciation#ANECDOTEAudio: (file)
Category:French terms with audio pronunciation#ANECDOTEAudio (Switzerland (Valais)): (file)
Category:French terms with audio pronunciation#ANECDOTEAudio (France (Vosges)): (file)
Category:French terms with audio pronunciation#ANECDOTEAudio (France (Saint-Étienne)): (file)
Noun
anecdote f (plural anecdotes)Category:French lemmas#ANECDOTECategory:French nouns#ANECDOTECategory:French countable nouns#ANECDOTECategory:French entries with incorrect language header#ANECDOTECategory:French feminine nouns#ANECDOTECategory:Pages with entries#ANECDOTECategory:Pages with 2 entries#ANECDOTE
Derived terms
Descendants
Further reading
- “anecdote”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012