anecdote

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   a short, often interesting or humorous account of a real incident

   She opened the lecture with a funny anecdote.

2. 2
   noun

   a personal story used as evidence, often without broader proof

   One anecdote cannot prove the policy works.

Appears in

Simplified etymology

Anecdote entered English in the mid-17th century from Greek anekdota, “things unpublished.” Its sense “short story” developed through Procopius's Anekdota, or “Unpublished Memoirs,” a collection of accounts about the private life of Emperor Justinian's court.

Late 17ᵗʰ c., from French anecdote, from Ancient Greek ἀνέκδοτος (anékdotos, “accounts unpublished”), from ἀν- (an-, “not, un-”) + ἔκδοτος (ékdotos, “published”), from ἐκδίδωμι (ekdídōmi, “I publish”), from ἐκ- (ek-, “out”) + δίδωμι (dídōmi, “I give”).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.

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External links

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• Cambridge Dictionary
• Wiktionary