historic

American  

[hi-stawr-ik, -stor-] / hɪˈstɔr ɪk, -ˈstɒr- /

adjective

1. well-known or important in history.

   a historic building;

   historic occasions.

   Synonyms:

   memorable, famed, famous, renowned, notable

2. historical.

---

historic British  

/ hɪˈstɒrɪk /

adjective

1. famous or likely to become famous in history; significant

2. a less common word for historical historical historical historical historical

3. 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

Derived Forms

• semihistoric
  adjective
• quasi-historic
  adjective
• nonhistoric
  adjective
• pseudohistoric
  adjective
• unhistoric
  adjective
• superhistoric
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of historic

First recorded in 1605–15; from Latin historicus, from Greek historikós “historical, scientific,” from histor(ía) “inquiry” ( see history) + -ikos -ic

Explanation

Something that's historic was important in its day and continues to be studied and remembered, like the historic integration of segregated schools and the historic March on Washington in 1963. When you describe something that's historic, it's either the first or the only of its kind. Historic moments are so important or momentous that they'll show up in history textbooks. A building can be historic, and so can a speech or a battle or a disaster. The root word is the Greek historia, "a learning by inquiry or history," although historic specifically means "important in history."

Related Words

• consequential
• extraordinary
• famous
• important
• memorable
• significant