anecdote

Reading level: hard

Estimated CEFR level: B2 — Upper-Intermediate

Estimated from word frequency; not an official CEFR classification.

Definition

  1. noun short account of an incident (especially a biographical one)

Etymology

Late 17ᵗʰ c., from French anecdote, from Ancient Greek ἀνέκδοτος (anékdotos, “accounts unpublished”), from ἀν- (an-, “not, un-”) + ἔκδοτος (ékdotos, “published”), from ἐκδίδωμι (ekdídōmi, “I publish”), from ἐκ- (ek-, “out”) + δίδωμι (dídōmi, “I give”). Virtually identical cognates in other European languages – French anecdote, German Anekdote, Spanish anécdota, among others.

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