factoid n. Sense 1. A piece of unverified or inaccurate information that is presented in the press as factual, often as part of a publicity effort, and that is then accepted as true because of frequent repetition. Sense 2. A brief, somewhat interesting fact. {Usage Note}

There are a half-dozen words in everyday usage having that tacked-on feature: adenoid, celluloid,  hemorrhoid, paranoid, polaroid, steroid, tabloid, thyroid, and typhoid. Then too, a couple of dozen wordoids might be remembered from science classes: android, aneroid, asteroid, bioflavonoid, caucasoid, corticosteroid, centroid, colloid, cuboid, cycloid, cylindroid, deltoid, ellipsoid, epicycloid, fugoid, humanoid, hypocycloid, meteoroid, micrometeoroid, mongoloid, paraboloid, planetoid, schizoid, sigmoid, sinusoid, solenoid, spheroid, toroid, and trapezoid.

There are at least 475 medical terms that are less familiar to those of us who are merely patientoids...

...acalephoid, acanthoid, acaroid, actinoid, adrenocorticosteroid, albuminoid, alcyonoid, algoid, alkaloid, alisphenoid, allantoid, allopolyploid, allotetraploid, ameboid, amianthoid, amioid, ammonoid, amoeboid, amphidiploid, amygdaloid, amyloid, anaphylactoid, ancistroid, anconoid, amphidiploid, amygdaloid, amyloid, anaphylactoid, ancistroid, anconoid, aneuploid, angioid, ankyroid, anneloid, annuloid, antheroid, antherozoid, anthracoid, anthropoid, antithyroid, aphthoid, apoplectoid, arachnoid, aroid, arytenoid, ascidiozooid, astragaloid, australoid, astroid, autacoid, autocoid, autopolyploid, bacteroid, balanoid, balistoid, basihyoid, basipterygoid, basisphenoid, batrachoid, belemnoid, belonoid, benzenoid, berycoid, berylloid, bituminoid, blastoid, blennioid, blennoid, boskopoid, botryoid, buccinoid, bungaloid, byssoid, cancroid, carangoid, carcinoid, cardioid, carotenoid, catenoid, ceratoid, cerebroid, cestoid, chancroid, cheloid, choanoid, choleroid, chondroid, chorioid, choroid, cirsoid, cissoid, clinoid, clupeoid, coccoid, conchoid, condyloid, confervoid, conicoid, conoid, coracoid, coralloid, coronoid, corticoid, cotyloid, cricoid, cricothyroid, crinoid, crystalloid, ctenoid, cuboid, cushingoid, cymoid, cyprinoid, cysticercoid, cystoid, cytoid, dactylozooid, dartoid, delphinoid, demantoid, dendroid, dentoid, dermatoid, dermestoid, dermoid, desmoid, deuterozooid, diphtheroid, diphyozooid, diploid, discoid, dispersoid, echinoid, ectethmoid, eicosanoid, elytroid, embiotocoid, embryoid, emulsoid, encephaloid, endothelioid, endotheloid, entomoid, epicoracoid, epidermatoid, epidermoid, epileptoid, epipterygoid, epithelioid, epitheloid, epitrochoid, erysipeloid, erythroid, etheostomoid, ethmoid, euglenoid, eunuchoid, euploid, eurypteroid, eutectoid, fibrinoid, fibroid, filicoid, fistularioid, flavonoid, fluoroid, formicaroid, froid, fucoid, fungoid, gadoid, ganoid, geniohyoid, geoid, ginglymoid, glenoid, globoid, glucocorticoid, gneissoid, gobioid, gonozooid, granitoid, grapsoid, gynandroid, gynecoid, haematoid, haliotoid, haloid, haploid, helianthoid, helicoid, helminthoid, hematoid, hemispheroid, heteroploid, histoid, hominoid, hyaloid, hydatoid, hydrencephsloid, hydrocephaloid, hydrocolloid, hydroid, hyoid, hyperboloid, hyperthyroid, hyperploid, hypnoid, hypoploid, hypothyroid, hypotrochoid, hypsiloid, hyracoid, hysteroid, ichthyoid, icteroid, iguanoid, infrahyoid, intercondyloid, intersesamoid, inuloid, keloid, keratoid, ketosteroid, labroid, lacertiloid, lambdoid, lanioid, laroid, lemuroid, lentoid, lepadoid, lepidodendroid, lepidoganoid, lepismoid, leucitoid, leucosoid, libelluloid, lipoid, lithoid, lumbricoid, lymphoid, macropinacoid, macruroid, maioid, mandibulohyoid, mastoid, mattoid, medusoid, megatheroid, melanoid, meloid, meniscoid, mesethmoid, mesocoracoid, mineralocorticoid, molluscoid, monoid, monoploid, mucinoid, mucoid, mugiloid, muricoid, muscoid, myceloid, mycetoid, myeloid, mylohyoid, myoid, mytiloid, myxinoid, myxoid, naticoid, nautiloid, negroid, nematoid, nephroid, neuroid, nevoid, nonsteroid, nucleoid, obomegoid, obovoid, oceloid, octoploid, odontoid, omegoid, omohyoid, ophidioid, ophiurioid, opioid, orbitosphenoid, orthopinacoid, osteoid, ostracoid, ovoid, palatopterygoid, paleotheroid, paramastoid, parasitoid, parasphenoid, parathyroid, paratyphoid, parethmoid, parotoid, pegasoid, pegtatoid, pelecoid, pentacrinoid, pentadactyloid, pentaploid, peptonoid, percoid, petaloid, petrohyoid, petromastoid, pezizoid, phacoid, phylloid, phytoid, picoid, pinacoid, pithecoid, pityroid, placoganoid, placoid, planarioid, platinoid, plerocercoid, pleuronectoid, ploid, polymyoid, polynemoid, polyploid, polypoid, pomacentroid, postglenoid, postsphenoid, prasoid, precoracoid, presphenoid, prismatoid, prismoid, procercoid, pterygoid, pyoid, pyramidoid, pyrenoid, pyrethroid, pyritoid, quartzoid, quinonoid, rectosigmoid, resinoid, retinoid, rheumatismoid, rheumatoid, rhizoid, rhomboganoid, rhomboid, rissoid, sabelloid, saccharoid, salamandroid, salmonoid, samaroid, sangfroid, sarcoid, saurioid, sauroid, scaphoid, scaraboid, scarlatinoid, scaroid, sciaenoid, scincoid, scirrhoid, sciuroid, scleroid, scomberoid, scombroid, scopeloid, scorpaenoid, scorpioid, sepaloid, serranoid, sesamoid, siluroid, sipunculoid, solanoid, sparoid, spatangoid, spermatoid, spermatozoid, sphecoid, sphenethmoid, sphenoid, sphygmoid, spiralozooid, spiroid, splenoid, sporozoid, squaloid, squamoid, sternocleidomastoid, sternocoracoid, sternohyoid, sternomastoid, sternothyroid, stromboid, strongyloid, strophoid, sturnoid, stylohyoid, styloid, stylomastoid, subarachnoid, subarytenoid, subcoracoid, subhyaloid, suprachoroid, supracondyloid, suprahyoid, suspensoid, syphiloid, taenioid, tanagroid, tapiroid, tenioid, teratoid, tetanoid, tetraploid, thalloid, thanatoid, theroid, thooid, thylakoid, thyroarytenoid, thyrohyoid, thyrsoid, tineoid, toxoid, trachinoid, trachytoid, trematoid, trichiuroid, trichoid, tringoid, tripetaloid, triploid, tritozooid, trochoid, trogonoid, tuberculoid, turbinoid, turritelloid, uloid, varicelloid, varioloid, viroid, virusoid, xiphioid, xiphoid, xyloid, ypsiloid, zincoid, ziphioid, zirconoid, zoanthoid, and zooid.

Accordingly, out of respect for authenticated facts, large and small, I think the language would be better off without factoid, substituting in its place factette.

 

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Factoid: USAGE NOTE: The –oid suffix normally imparts the meaning “resembling, having the appearance of” to the words it attaches to. Thus the anthropoid apes are the apes that are most like humans (from Greek anthropos, “human being”). In some words –oid has a slightly extended meaning—“having characteristics of, but not the same as,” as in humanoid, a being that has human characteristics but is not really human. Similarly, factoid originally referred to a piece of information that appears to be reliable or accurate, as from being repeated so often that people assume it is true. The word still has this meaning in standard usage. "It would be easy to condemn the book as a concession to the television age, as a McLuhanish melange of pictures and factoids which give the illusion of learning without the substance." Factoid has since developed a second meaning, that of a brief, somewhat interesting fact, that might better have been called a factette. "Each issue of the magazine begins with a list of factoids, like how many pounds of hamburger were consumed in Texas last month." Many experts prefer terms such as statistics, trivia, useless facts, and just plain facts in that sentence.

-- Excerpted from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language: Fourth Edition. 2000.