Anecdote, n.
Etymology: [F. anecdote, fr. Gr. Dose, n.]
1. pl.
Unpublished narratives. Burke.
2. A particular or detached incident or fact of an interesting nature; a biographical incident or fragment; a single passage of private life.
Shades of meaning
Fernald has no entry of its own for anecdote; he lists it under story.
Where he writes about it:
An anecdote tells briefly some incident, assumed to be fact. — from story
If it passes close limits of brevity, it ceases to be an anecdote, and becomes a narrative or narration. — from story