Anecdote
/ˈæn.ɪk.doʊt/noun
A short, usually amusing or striking story about a real incident or person.
Did you know?Anecdote comes from Greek anékdota, literally “unpublished things,” a term famously used for Procopius’s hidden, scandalous account of Emperor Justinian’s court.
Etymological Timeline
Ancient Greek
Greek
anékdota (ἀνέκδοτα)
“unpublished things; things not given out”
Late Greek
Greek
anékdotos (ἀνέκδοτος)
“unpublished, not issued”
17th Century
French
anecdote
“a secret or unpublished story; a brief narrative”
17th–18th Century
English
anecdote
“a short account of a particular incident, often private or amusing”