Etymology : Latin historia, from Greek, inquiry, history, from histOr, istOr knowing, learned; akin to Greek eidenai to know; more at WIT
Pronunciation : his-t(&-)rE
Function : noun
Date : 14th century
1. events of the past; written narrative of past events. fired, dismissed, gone, down the road If you refuse to do a job, you're history, pal. history\his"to*ry\ , n.; pl. histories (#). [l. historia, gr. 'istori`a history, information, inquiry, fr. 'istwr, "istwr, knowing, learned, from the root of to know; akin to e. wit. see:
wit, and cf. story.].
2. a learning or knowing by inquiry; the knowledge of facts and events, so obtained; hence, a formal statement of such information; a narrative; a description; a written record; as, the history of a patient's case; the history of a legislative bill.
3. a systematic, written account of events, particularly of those affecting a nation, institution, science, or art, and usually connected with a philosophical explanation of their causes; a true story, as distinguished from a romance; -- distinguished also from annals, which relate simply the facts and events of each year, in strict chronological order; from biography, which is the record of an individual's life; and from memoir, which is history composed from personal experience, observation, and memory. histories are as perfect as the historian is wise, and is gifted with an eye and a soul. arlyle. for aught that i could ever read, could ever hear by tale or history. what histories of toil could i declare!history piece, a representation in painting, drawing, etc., of any real event, including the actors and the action.
4. A learning or knowing by inquiry; the knowledge of facts and events, so obtained; hence, a formal statement of such information; a narrative; a description; a written record; as, the history of a patient's case; the history of a legislative bill.
5. A systematic, written account of events, particularly of those affecting a nation, institution, science, or art, and usually connected with a philosophical explanation of their causes; a true story, as distinguished from a romance; distinguished also from annals, which relate simply the facts and events of each year, in strict chronological order; from biography, which is the record of an individual's life; and from memoir, which is history composed from personal experience, observation, and memory.
6. To narrate or record. the discipline that records and interprets past events involving human beings; "he teaches Medieval history"; "history takes the long view" all that is remembered of the past as preserved in writing; a body of knowledge; "the dawn of recorded history"; "from the beginning of history" a record or narrative description of past events; "a history of France"; "he gave an inaccurate account of the plot to kill the president"; "the story of exposure to lead" the aggregate of past events; "a critical time in the school's history" the continuum of events occurring in succession leading from the past to the present and even into the future; "all of human history".
7. 1. You can refer to the events of the past as history. You can also refer to the past events which concern a particular topic or place as its history. The Catholic Church has played a prominent role throughout Polish history. the most evil mass killer in history. the history of Birmingham. Someone who makes history does something that is considered to be important and significant in the development of the world or of a particular society. Willy Brandt made history by visiting East Germany in 1970. If someone or something goes down in history, people in the future remember them because of particular actions that they have done or because of particular events that have happened. Bradley will go down in history as Los Angeles' longest serving mayor.
8. History is a subject studied in schools, colleges, and universities that deals with events that have happened in the past.
9. A history is an account of events that have happened in the past. his magnificent history of broadcasting in Canada.
10. If a person or a place has a history of something, it has been very common or has happened frequently in their past. He had a history of drink problems.
11. Someone's history is the set of facts that are known about their past. He couldn't get a new job because of his medical history.
12. If you say that an event, thing, or person is history, you mean that they are no longer important. The Charlottetown agreement is history.
13. If you are telling someone about an event and say the rest is history, you mean that you do not need to tell them what happened next because everyone knows about it already. We met at college, the rest is history. see also:
natural history. American Museum of Natural History art history history play history philosophy of social history.