anecdote

An anecdote is a short, often amusing or revealing narrative about a real person or incident. It is typically drawn from ordinary life and used to illustrate a point or to entertain. The word anecdote comes from the Greek anekdota, meaning "things unpublished," via Latin and French into English, with the modern sense emerging in the 17th century.

In writing and speech, anecdotes serve to humanize complex ideas, provide concrete context, or reveal character. They are commonly used in journalism, memoirs, speeches, and teaching to engage listeners and make abstract concepts accessible. Anecdotes can be personal, historical, or cultural, and they are often told in a concise, vivid form that highlights a specific moment or outcome.

Anecdotes are typically brief and rely on sensory detail, dialogue, and specific dates or places to enhance credibility. They may be humorous, poignant, surprising, or cautionary. Because they arise from a single instance, anecdotes can be memorable but are not necessarily representative of a broader pattern.

In critical use, anecdotal evidence refers to claims based on anecdotes rather than systematic data. While anecdotes can illustrate possibilities or raise questions, they should be evaluated alongside larger bodies of evidence. In science and policy, reliance on anecdotes is balanced with rigorous methods and statistical analysis.

Related terms include anecdotal, describing information based on personal accounts, and parable or joke, which differ in purpose and structure. Anecdotes remain a common device in literature and public discourse for conveying lived experience in a compact form.