short-story

The compound "short-story" is a transparent English formation, combining two native concepts to describe a specific literary form. The adjective "short," of Germanic origin, descends from the Proto-Germanic skurtaz, implying a lack of length. The noun "story" entered English via French from the Latin historia, which itself originated from the Ancient Greek historia, meaning "inquiry, knowledge acquired by investigation." The modern term emerged in the 19th century to formally designate a brief work of prose fiction, distinct from the novel, by directly specifying its defining formal characteristic—its brevity—in relation to the narrative form.

Structure: short (brief) + story (narrative) - short: From Old English sceort, meaning "not long, brief." It functions as an adjective modifying the noun. - story: From Anglo-French estorie, from Latin historia, meaning "history, tale, narrative." It functions as the core noun.