story

¹sto·ry

noun \ˈstȯr-ē\

plural stories

Definition of STORY

1

archaic

a : history 1

b : history 3

2

a : an account of incidents or events

b : a statement regarding the facts pertinent to a situation in question

c : anecdote; especially : an amusing one

3

a : a fictional narrative shorter than a novel; specifically : short story

b : the intrigue or plot of a narrative or dramatic work

4

: a widely circulated rumor

5

: lie, falsehood

6

: legend, romance

7

: a news article or broadcast

8

: matter, situation

Origin of STORY

Middle English storie, from Anglo-French estoire, estorie, from Latin historia — more at history

First Known Use: 13th century

Other Literature Terms

apophasis, bathos, bildungsroman, bowdlerize, caesura, coda, doggerel, euphemism, poesy, prosody

Rhymes with STORY

Corey, corrie, dory, glory, Gorey, gory, hoary, lorry, lory, nori, quarry, saury, Tory, zori

²story

transitive verb

sto·riedsto·ry·ing

Definition of STORY

1

archaic : to narrate or describe in story

2

: to adorn with a story or a scene from history

First Known Use of STORY

15th century

³story

noun \ˈstȯr-ē\

plural stories also storeys

Definition of STORY

1

a : the space in a building between two adjacent floor levels or between a floor and the roof

b : a set of rooms in such a space

c : a unit of measure equal to the height of the story of a building <one story high>

2

: a horizontal division of a building's exterior not necessarily corresponding exactly with the stories within

Variants of STORY

story also sto·rey \ˈstȯr-ē\

Origin of STORY

Middle English storie, from Medieval Latin historia narrative, illustration, story of a building, from Latin, history, tale; probably from narrative friezes on the window level of medieval buildings

First Known Use: 14th century

Other Architecture Terms

buttress, casita, cornice, fanlight, garret, lintel, parapet, pilaster, plinth

Sto·ry

biographical name \ˈstȯr-ē\

Definition of STORY

Joseph 1779–1845 Am. jurist

Story

biographical name

Definition of STORY

William Wetmore 1819–1895 son of prec. Am. sculptor