anecdote

[an-ik-doht] /ˈæn ɪkˌdoʊt/
noun, plural anecdotes or for 2, anecdota [an-ik-doh-tuh] /ˌæn ɪkˈdoʊ tə/ (Show IPA)
1.
a short account of a particular incident or event, especially of an interesting or amusing nature.
2.
a short, obscure historical or biographical account.
Origin
1670-80; < Neo-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 Late Greek, Greek anékdota things unpublished (referring especially to Procopius' unpublished memoirs of Justinian and Theodora), neuter plural of anékdotos, equivalent to an- an-1 + ékdotos given out, verbal adjective of ekdidónai to give out, publish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)
Can be confused
anecdote, antedate, antidote.
Synonyms
story, yarn, reminiscence.
Examples from the web for anecdote
  • She recounts anecdote after anecdote illustrating how she beat the odds.
  • But the historian learns to question the value of all anecdotes.
  • All that I can share is a personal anecdote.
  • His prose is unsophisticated, but his anecdote-filled story is engaging.
  • He speaks the powerful language of anecdote and first-hand observation.
  • Share a favorite memory or anecdote about your hometown in our new special section.
  • Nevertheless, your unfortunate anecdote has relatively little to say about the wider debate here.
  • Instructions are succinct and blissfully free of anecdote.
  • Other times, anecdote gives rise to philosophical query.
  • They err by drawing conclusions from a non-random sample of a few counties, a statistically cloaked anecdote.
British Dictionary definitions for anecdote

anecdote

/ˈænɪkˌdəʊt/
noun
1.
a short usually amusing account of an incident, esp a personal or biographical one
Derived Forms
anecdotic, adjective
anecdotalist, anecdotist, noun
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C17: from Medieval Latin anecdota unpublished items, from Greek anekdotos unpublished, from an- + ekdotos published, from ekdidonai, from ek- out + didonai to give
Word Origin and History for 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 or directly from Greek anekdota "things unpublished," neuter plural of anekdotos, from an- "not" (see an-) + ekdotos "published," from ek- "out" + didonai "to give" (see date (n.1)).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 Anecdota, unpublished memoirs of Emperor Justinian full of court gossip, gave the word a sense of "revelation of secrets," which decayed in English to "brief, amusing stories"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).