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Raconteur Has Old French Roots
If you’re a sage of sagas, a bard of ballads, or a pro in prose, you may have lost count of the accounts you’ve recounted. Some might call you a recounter, but as a master of narrative form you may find that recounter lacks a certain je ne sais quoi. Sure, it has a cool story—it traces back to the Latin verb computere, meaning “to count”—but so do many words: compute and computer, count and account, and neither last nor least, raconteur, a singsong title better fit for a whimsical storyteller. English speakers borrowed raconteur from French in the early 19th century.
Examples of raconteur in a Sentence
Jim Dobson, Forbes, 16 Oct. 2024
In a transfixing performance that balances colorful affectation with raw hunger, the actor makes Lee a magnetic raconteur whose shield of worldly composure falls away as Eugene (Drew Starkey) eludes his grasp, leaving him a virtual ghost by the end of the film.
—David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter, 3 Sep. 2024
The raconteur ruffled feathers running the store, attracting unsavory and unruly crowds while constantly fighting with alders, community leaders and police.
—Justin Kaufmann, Axios, 1 Aug. 2024
Artists and local raconteurs will also share surprising and hysterical stories.
—Detroit Free Press Staff, Detroit Free Press, 29 July 2024
See all Example Sentences for raconteur 
Dictionary Entries Near raconteur
Cite this Entry
“Raconteur.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/raconteur. Accessed 23 Nov. 2024.
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