Anecdote

An anecdote[1][2] is "a story with a point",[3] such as to communicate an abstract idea about a person, place, or thing through the concrete details of a short narrative or to characterize by delineating a specific quirk or trait.

[9] The word anecdote (in Greek: ἀνέκδοτον "unpublished", literally "not given out") comes from Procopius of Caesarea, the biographer of Emperor Justinian I (r. 527–565).

Procopius produced c. 550 CE a work entitled Ἀνέκδοτα (Anekdota, variously translated as Unpublished Memoirs or as Secret History), which consists primarily of a collection of short incidents from the private life of the Byzantine court.

Gradually, the term "anecdote" came to be applied[10] to any short tale used to emphasize or illustrate whatever point an author wished to make.

[citation needed] When usd in advertising or promotion of a product, service, or idea, anecdotal evidence is often called a testimonial.