raconteur
UK[ˌrækɒnˈtɜː(r)]US[ˌrækɑːnˈtɜːr]
n
a person who is skilled at telling stories or anecdotes in an interesting and amusing way.
Morpheme Breakdown
racont
eur
racont
to count, to reckon
eur
Etymology
the word 'raconteur' is a direct loan from french, entering english in the early 19th century. it is built from the french verb 'raconter', meaning 'to tell' or 'to narrate', combined with the agent suffix '-eur'. the verb 'raconter' itself has a deeper history, deriving from vulgar latin 'recontare', a compound of the latin intensive prefix 're-' and 'computare', meaning 'to count, to reckon'. this etymological journey from the concrete act of counting or enumerating to the abstract art of storytelling reflects a semantic evolution where the careful arrangement and recounting of details became associated with the skilled narration of tales. thus, a raconteur is literally 'one who recounts'.
Analysis
Structure: racont + eur
racont (from french 'raconter', meaning 'to tell, to narrate', ultimately from latin 're-' + 'computare' meaning 'to count, to reckon'); eur (a french agent noun suffix, equivalent to english '-er', indicating 'a person who does something').
Examples
he was a charming raconteur, holding the entire dinner party captive with his tales of travel.
the book celebrates her not just as a writer, but as a brilliant raconteur in social gatherings.
every family seems to have one uncle who is the designated raconteur at holiday meals.