history

[his-tuh-ree, his-tree]

noun

plural

histories 

1. the branch of knowledge dealing with past events.

2. a continuous, systematic narrative of past events as relating to a particular people, country, period, person, etc., usually written as a chronological account; chronicle.

   a history of France;

   a medical history of the patient.

   Synonyms: annals, record

3. the aggregate of past events.

4. the record of past events and times, especially in connection with the human race.

5. a past notable for its important, unusual, or interesting events.

   a ship with a history.

6. acts, ideas, or events that will or can shape the course of the future; immediate but significant happenings.

   Firsthand observers of our space program see history in the making.

7. a systematic account of any set of natural phenomena without particular reference to time.

   a history of the American eagle.

8. a drama representing historical events.

   Shakespeare's comedies, histories, and tragedies.

history

/ ˈhɪstrɪ, ˈhɪstərɪ /

noun

1. 1. a record or account, often chronological in approach, of past events, developments, etc

   2. ( as modifier )

      a history book

      a history play

2. all that is preserved or remembered of the past, esp in written form

3. the discipline of recording and interpreting past events involving human beings

4. past events, esp when considered as an aggregate

5. an event in the past, esp one that has been forgotten or reduced in importance

   their quarrel was just history

6. the past, background, previous experiences, etc, of a thing or person

   the house had a strange history

7. computing a stored list of the websites that a user has recently visited

8. a play that depicts or is based on historical events

9. a narrative relating the events of a character's life

   the history of Joseph Andrews

Other Word Forms

• underhistory noun
• unhistory noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of history¹

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English historie, from Latin historia, from Greek historía “learning or knowing by inquiry, history”; derivative of hístōr “one who knows or sees; learned”; akin to wit ², video, Veda

Word History and Origins

Origin of history¹

C15: from Latin historia, from Greek: enquiry, from historein to narrate, from histōr judge

Idioms and Phrases

see ancient history; go down (in history); make history; (history) repeats itself.

Synonym Study

See narrative.

Example Sentences

In 1983, according to a biography for Summers on Harvard’s website, he became one of the youngest people in modern history to be offered tenure at the university.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Oh please, I said, he has zero history of fearing to usurp judicial authority.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Many retirees may still feel burned by the downturn in both stocks and bonds in 2022, one of the worst years in history for the 60/40.

Read more on Barron's

The chip maker is still poised to benefit from the largest product cycle in its history, the 72 GPU rack servers, called NVL72.

Read more on Barron's

Over 150 years of U.S. stock-market history, this approach has handily beaten the market average.

Read more on MarketWatch

Related Words

• account 
• annals 
• biography 
• record 
• relation 
• story 
• tale