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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
ArsTechnica, 11 Apr. 2025
In addition to being one of the great songwriters of all-time, Ian is a captivating raconteur, which has made for engaging Q&As with documentary audiences.
—Matthew Carey, Deadline, 7 Apr. 2025
Simon was also a writer, a raconteur and a great public speaker.
—Tiffany Kelly, EW.com, 10 Mar. 2025
The fact that this vibrant, voracious, wonderful raconteur with an encyclopedic knowledge of his subject would die from Alzheimer’s seems all the sadder, with no hope anyone could possibly replace him.
—John Mariani, Forbes, 25 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for raconteur
Cite this Entry
“Raconteur.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/raconteur. Accessed 1 May. 2025.
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