Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Conte \Conte\, n.; pl. {Contes}. [F.]
   A short narrative or tale, esp. one dealing with surprising
   or marvelous events.

         The conte (sic) is a tale something more than a sketch,
         it may be, and something less than a short story. . . .
         The ``Canterbury Tales'' are contes, most of them, if
         not all, and so are some of the ``Tales of a Wayside
         Inn.''                                   --Brander
                                                  Matthews.