raconteur
/ˌɹæk.ɑnˈtɝ/
Word Rarity
Very rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.13 in modern English
11
Scrabble Score
9
Letters
3
Syllables
8
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
A storyteller, especially a person noted for telling stories with skill and wit.
Example Sentences
- "He was tempted to try the last door—to look into the room of evil fame; but he reflected that this would be indiscreet, since Colonel Capadose handled the brush—as a raconteur—with such freedom. There might be a ghost and there might not; but the Colonel himself, he inclined to think, was the most mystifying figure in the house."
- "It is notoriously possible for the author of a fictitious narrative to become, after a time, unable to distinguish it from a statement of actual facts. There is a case on record in which a learned judge communicated to the Psychical Society in perfect good faith a ghost story, all the principal features of which were proved to be imaginary. They had their origin in his own talent as a distinguished raconteur."
- "The two of them turn to each other and raise an eyebrow each, their signal to slip into alternating raconteuring."
Etymology
Etymology tree French raconter Proto-Indo-European *-tōr Proto-Italic *-tōr Latin -(ā)tōrem Old French -or Middle French -eur French -eur French raconteurbor. English raconteur Borrowed from French raconteur.
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˌɹæk.ɑnˈtɝ/
- British English: /ˌɹæk.ɒnˈtɜː/