historical

[hi-stawr-i-kuhl, -stor-]

adjective

1. of, relating to, treating, or characteristic of history or past events.

   historical records;

   historical research.

2. based on or reconstructed from an event, custom, style, etc., in the past.

   a historical reenactment of the battle of Gettysburg.

3. having once existed or lived in the real world, as opposed to being part of legend or fiction or as distinguished from religious belief.

   Scholars doubt that a historical Camelot ever existed.

   Her thesis was an overview of how theologians have studied the historical Jesus.

   Synonyms: factual, authentic

4. narrated or mentioned in history; belonging to the past.

   He cited several historical examples of international conflict resolution.

5. relating to or involving analysis based on a comparison among several periods of development of a phenomenon, as in language or economics.

   She taught a course in historical linguistics.

6. historic.

historical

/ hɪˈstɒrɪkəl /

adjective

1. belonging to or typical of the study of history

   historical methods

2. concerned with or treating of events of the past

   historical accounts

3. based on or constituting factual material as distinct from legend or supposition

4. based on or inspired by history

   a historical novel

5. occurring or prominent in history

6. a less common word for historic

Other Word Forms

• historically adverb
• historicalness noun
• antihistorical adjective
• antihistoricalness noun
• nonhistorical adjective
• nonhistoricalness noun
• pseudohistorical adjective
• quasi-historical adjective
• semihistorical adjective
• superhistorical adjective
• unhistorical adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of historical¹

First recorded in 1375–1425; late Middle English, from Latin historic(us) historic ( def. ) + -al ¹ ( def. )

Example Sentences

However huge their historical and cultural value, crowns and diadems can easily be broken apart and sold in bits.

Read more on BBC

French authorities are hunting four thieves for their brazen heist at the Louvre on Sunday that saw eight priceless and historical pieces of jewellery stolen, Paris's chief prosecutor said.

Read more on Barron's

From a historical perspective, there is no comparison.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

In an interview with the BBC shortly before the president's plane took off, Stefanchuk described the trip as a "very important historical moment".

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Some advocates, however, are leery of relying on technology and punitive fines that can continue historical harms, particularly for communities of color.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• actual 
• ancient 
• archival 
• classical 
• factual 
• real