raconteur

noun

ra·​con·​teur ˌra-ˌkän-ˈtər 

-kən-

: a person who excels in telling anecdotes

Did you know?

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

Recent Examples on the Web

Enter Bernie Corbett, a third generation BU Terrier (1983 grad and student team manager), voice of BU hockey for the past 41 years, font of knowledge and great raconteur of the local sports scene. —Steve Conroy, Boston Herald, 8 Nov. 2025

Ever the raconteur, Smith discussed writing the book, her childhood, and even her fashion. —Rob Sheffield, Rolling Stone, 5 Nov. 2025

Hawke portrays Rodgers’ former collaborator, lyricist Lorenz Hart, an alcoholic and marginally closeted raconteur grappling with the fact that Rodgers’ biggest success now belongs to a new partnership with Oscar Hammerstein. —Yamillah Hurtado, PEOPLE, 10 Sep. 2025

Jordan Schnitzer: The man who made it, Louis Bunce, was charismatic, a real raconteur in tweed. —Stephan Rabimov, Forbes.com, 8 Sep. 2025

Word History

Etymology

French, from Middle French, from raconter to tell, from Old French, from re- + aconter, acompter to tell, count — more at account

First Known Use

1819, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for raconteur

• amour
• auteur
• grandeur
• hauteur
• velour
• verdure
• voyeur
• doer
• poor
• poore

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