Raconteur

WORD OF THE DAY


raconteur \ ra-kahn-TER \ noun


Definition
: a person who excels in telling anecdotes


Examples
A bona fide raconteur, Taylor can turn even mundane experiences into hilariously entertaining stories.


"Her fans, any of whom would welcome the chance to share … a bowl of pimento cheese with her, know [Julia] Reed as a tremendous wit, a sharp observer of the complexities of Southern culture, a great storyteller and fabulous raconteur."
— Greg Morago, The Houston Chronicle, 1 June 2016
 
Did You Know?
The story of raconteur is a tale of telling and counting. English speakers borrowed the word from French, where it traces back to the Old French verb raconteur, meaning "to tell." Raconteur in turn was formed from another Old French verb, aconteur or acompteur, meaning "to tell" or "to count," which is ultimately from Latin computare, meaning "to count." Computare is also the source of our words count and account. Raconteur has been part of the English vocabulary since at least 1828.