Episode \Ep"i*sode\, n. [Gr. ? a coming in besides, ? episode; ? into, besides + ? a coming in, ? into + ? way, cf. Skr. sad to go: cf. F. ['e]pisode.]

(Rhet.) A separate incident, story, or action, introduced for the purpose of giving a greater variety to the events related; an incidental narrative, or digression, separable from the main subject, but naturally arising from it.

Source: Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)