adjective
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famous or likely to become famous in history; significant
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a less common word for historical historical historical historical historical
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Also: secondary. linguistics (of Latin, Greek, or Sanskrit verb tenses) referring to past time
Usage
A distinction is usually made between historic (important, significant) and historical (pertaining to history): a historic decision; a historical perspective
Other Word Forms
- nonhistoric adjective
- pseudohistoric adjective
- quasi-historic adjective
- semihistoric adjective
- superhistoric adjective
- unhistoric adjective
Etymology
Origin of historic
First recorded in 1605–15; from Latin historicus, from Greek historikós “historical, scientific,” from histor(ía) “inquiry” ( history ) + -ikos -ic
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The revelations of the last few days would have been significant in any context, but what has turbocharged their significance is they cannot be dismissed as historic.
From BBC
Operations were stopped, Isaacman said, adding that "we will only launch when we believe we are as ready to undertake this historic mission."
From Barron's
City Council unanimously voted to designate it as a historic cultural monument a few months later, officially saving it from destruction.
From Los Angeles Times
The health board said it had acted "robustly and fairly" to deal with the "historic allegations".
From BBC
Overall, U.S. investment-grade corporate spreads remain only fractionally above historic spreads over Treasurys overall, signaling that major corporations have no difficulty tapping the market for funding.
From MarketWatch
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
