anecdotal (adj.)

"pertaining to anecdotes, of the nature of an anecdote," 1794, from anecdote + -al (1). Related: Anecdotally. Anecdotical is attested from 1744.

Entries linking to anecdotal

anecdote (n.)

1670s, "secret or private stories," from French anecdote (17c.) or directly from Medieval Latin anecdota, from Greek anekdota "things unpublished," neuter plural of anekdotos, from an- "not" (see an- (1)) + ekdotos "published," from ek- "out" (see ex-) + didonai "to give" (from PIE root *do- "to give").

Procopius' 6c. Anecdota, unpublished memoirs of Emperor Justinian full of court gossip, gave the word a sense of "revelation of secrets," which decayed in English to "brief, amusing story" (1761).

-al (1)

suffix forming adjectives from nouns or other adjectives, "of, like, related to, pertaining to," Middle English -al, -el, from French or directly from Latin -alis (see -al (2)).

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updated on January 07, 2017

Definitions of anecdotal from WordNet

anecdotal (adj.)

having the character of an anecdote;

anecdotal evidence

anecdotal (adj.)

characterized by or given to telling anecdotes;

anecdotal conversation

an anecdotal history of jazz

Synonyms: anecdotic / anecdotical

From wordnet.princeton.edu, not affiliated with etymonline.

Dictionary entries near anecdotal

Andy

-ane

*ane-

anear

anecdotage

anecdotal

anecdote

anechoic

anemia

anemic

anemo-