anecdote French · revision 15607

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=before 1654, Guez de Balzac|origins=grc ἀνέκδοτος}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /a.nɛk.dɔt/^(Wiktionary)

+ * IPA: /a.nɛɡ.dɔt/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''anecdote''' ''f'' (plural anecdotes)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It comes, through the title [[la-new|Anecdota]], from Greek [[m|grc|ἀνέκδοτα|tr=anékdota|t=unpublished things]], the name of Procopius's secret history of Justinian's court;^(DHLF 1992)^(Grand Robert 2005)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)^(Petit Robert 2007)^(FEW|24, 554b) Wiktionary treats it as a learned borrowing from [[grc|ἀνέκδοτος|tr=anékdotos|t=unpublished]].^(Wiktionary) The Greek adjective is formed from [[m|grc|ἀν-|tr=an-|t=not]] and [[m|grc|ἔκδοτος|tr=ékdotos|t=given out, published]], from [[m|grc|ἐκδίδωμι|tr=ekdídōmi|t=to give out, publish]], a verb related to [[la|dōnum|t=gift]].^(DHLF 1992)^(Littré 1873)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Guez de Balzac used it as an adjective, ''histoire anecdote'' “secret, unpublished history” (before 1654),^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992) and Varillas as a noun in the title ''Anecdotes de Florence'' (1685).^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Furetière (1690) defines ''anecdotes'' as the title historians give to histories of the secret affairs of princes.^(TLFi) The word spread in history writing from 1718 and then in everyday use through Voltaire,^(DHLF 1992) who in 1777 uses it of a short account of a curious incident.^(TLFi) It also came to mean a minor detail as opposed to what matters (''se perdre dans l'anecdote'').^(GLLF 1989)^(Petit Robert 2007)

+

+ The adjectival use is now obsolete, replaced by [[anecdotique]] (1781).^(TLFi)^(Littré 1873)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * before 1654 – Adjective ''anecdote'' “unpublished”.^(TLFi)^(GLLF 1989)

+ * 1685 – ''Anecdotes de Florence''.^(TLFi)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)

+ * 1690 – Furetière defines it.^(TLFi)

+ * 1736 – ''Anecdotier'' in Voltaire.^(DHLF 1992)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)

+ * 1777 – Voltaire uses it of a short curious story.^(TLFi)

+ * 1781 – ''Anecdotique''.^(DHLF 1992)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # An [[m|en|anecdote]], a short account of a curious or amusing incident.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(GLLF 1989)

+ # ''(literary)'' A little-known historical detail that throws light on events or people.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(TLFi)

+ # A secondary detail, as opposed to the essential: ''ce peintre ne s'élève pas au-dessus de l'anecdote''.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(GLLF 1989)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[anecdotier]]

+ * [[anecdotique]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[grc|ἀνέκδοτος|tr=anékdotos]]

+ * [[en|anecdote]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}