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anecdote

 - 3 dictionary results

an⋅ec⋅dote

  [an-ik-doht]
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–noun
a short account of a particular incident or event of an interesting or amusing nature, often biographical.
Origin:
1670–80; < NL anecdota or F anecdotes < LGk, Gk anékdota things unpublished (referring esp. to Procopius' unpublished memoirs of Justinian and Theodora), neut. pl. of anékdotos, equiv. to an- an- 1 + ékdotos given out, verbal adj. of ekdidónai to give out, publish (ek- ec- + didónai to give)

Synonyms:
story, yarn, reminiscence.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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an·ec·dote   (ān'ĭk-dōt')   
n.  

  1. A short account of an interesting or humorous incident.

  2. pl. an·ec·dotes or an·ec·do·ta (-dō'tə) Secret or hitherto undivulged particulars of history or biography.


[French, from Greek anekdota, unpublished items : an-, not; see a-1 + ekdota, neuter pl. of ekdotos, published (from ekdidonai, ekdo-, to publish : ek-, out; see ecto- + didonai, to give; see dō- in Indo-European roots).]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

anecdote 
1676, "secret or private stories," from Gk. anekdota "things unpublished," neut. pl. of anekdotos, from an- "not" + ekdotos "published," from ek- "out" + didonai "to give" (see date (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 Anecdota, unpublished memoirs of Emperor Justinian full of court gossip, gave the word a sense of "revelation of secrets," which decayed in Eng. to "brief, amusing stories" (1761). Anecdotage "garrulous old age" is a jocular formation of De Quincey's from 1823.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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