anecdote
UK[ˈænɪkdəʊt]US[ˈænɪkdoʊt]
n
a short, often amusing story about a real person or event.
n
an account regarded as unreliable or hearsay.
Morpheme Breakdown
an
ec
dote
an
not
ec
out
dote
given
Etymology
the word "anecdote" has a fascinating journey from secrecy to storytelling. it originates from the greek 'anekdota', meaning "things unpublished", a compound of 'an-' (not) + 'ek' (out) + 'dotos' (given). this term was famously used by the 6th-century historian procopius for his "secret history", a collection of unpublished, private court tales. the sense evolved in french 'anecdote' to refer to brief, revealing accounts of private incidents. in modern english, it retains the core idea of a personal, previously undisclosed narrative, though it has lost its strictly secretive connotation and now commonly denotes any short, interesting real-life story.
Analysis
Structure: an (not) + ec (out) + dote (given)
an: greek origin, a prefix meaning "not" or "without".
ec: greek origin, a variant of the prefix "ex-", meaning "out".
dote: from greek 'dotos', meaning "given", from 'didonai', "to give".
Examples
she began her lecture with a humorous anecdote about her first day at work.
his argument was based more on anecdote than on solid evidence.
the book is filled with fascinating anecdotes about the author's travels.