Raconteurs

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A person who tells stories or anecdotes in an entertaining and engaging manner
2. an individual skilled at sharing narratives, often characterized by humor and charm
3. someone who narrates tales that captivate listeners and provoke thought

Etymology: The plural "raconteurs" is simply the ordinary English plural of "raconteur," a word borrowed directly from French, where it is built on the verb "raconter," meaning "to recount" or "to relate." That verb is a compound of "re-" and "compter," "to count" or "to tally," so the idea underneath is counting something out again, item by item, until the whole account is laid out. A French speaker who "raconte" a tale is, in effect, telling it back in order. The French form ends in "-eur," the same agent ending that gives English words like "performer" in its French shape. Its ancestry runs back through Old French and Latin, with the Latin ending "-(ā)tōrem" marking a person who carries out an action. The French word passed into English without much change in spelling or meaning, which is why "raconteur" still looks and sounds like a visitor from a Paris salon.

Synonyms: storytellers, narrators, tellers, chronicle writers, anecdotalists