an·ec·dote (?n??k-d?t?)n.1. A short account of an interesting or humorous incident.2. pl. an·ec·dotes or an·ec·do·ta (-d??t?) Secret or hitherto undivulged particulars of history or biography.[French, from Greek anekdota, unpublished items : an-, not; see a-1 + ekdota, neuter pl. of ekdotos, published (from ekdidonai, ekdo-, to publish : ek-, out; see ecto- + didonai, to give; see d?- in Indo-European roots).]American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.anecdota (?æn?k?d??t?) pl nunpublished writingsCollins English Dictionary ? Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014