Definitions for history
ˈhɪs tə ri, ˈhɪs trihis·to·ry

Princeton's WordNet(4.00 / 23 votes)Rate this definition:

1. history(noun)

   the aggregate of past events

   "a critical time in the school's history"

2. history, account, chronicle, story(noun)

   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"

3. history(noun)

   the discipline that records and interprets past events involving human beings

   "he teaches Medieval history"; "history takes the long view"

4. history(noun)

   the continuum of events occurring in succession leading from the past to the present and even into the future

   "all of human history"

5. history(noun)

   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"

Wiktionary(2.57 / 7 votes)Rate this definition:

1. history(Noun)

   The aggregate of past events.

2. history(Noun)

   The branch of knowledge that studies the past; the assessment of notable events.

3. history(Noun)

   A set of events involving an entity.

4. history(Noun)

   A record or narrative description of past events.

5. history(Noun)

   The list of past and continuing medical conditions of an individual or family.

6. history(Noun)

   A record of previous user events; specifically, a browser history, a history of visited Web pages.

   I visited a great site yesterday but forgot the URL; oh! ... luckily I didn't clear my history.

7. history(Noun)

   Something that no longer exists or is no longer relevant.

   I told him that if he doesn't get his act together, he's history.

Webster Dictionary(3.72 / 7 votes)Rate this definition:

1. History(noun)

   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

2. History(noun)

   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

3. History(verb)

   to narrate or record

Freebase(4.17 / 12 votes)Rate this definition:

1. History

   History is an umbrella term that relates to past events as well as the discovery, collection, organization, and presentation of information about these events. The term includes cosmic, geologic, and organic history, but is often generically implied to mean human history. Scholars who write about history are called historians. History can also refer to the academic discipline which uses a narrative to examine and analyse a sequence of past events, and objectively determine the patterns of cause and effect that determine them. Historians sometimes debate the nature of history and its usefulness by discussing the study of the discipline as an end in itself and as a way of providing "perspective" on the problems of the present. Stories common to a particular culture, but not supported by external sources are usually classified as cultural heritage or legends, because they do not support the "disinterested investigation" required of the discipline of history. Events occurring prior to written record are considered prehistory. Herodotus, a 5th-century B.C. Greek historian is considered within the Western tradition to be the "father of history", and, along with his contemporary Thucydides, helped form the foundations for the modern study of human history. Their work continues to be read today and the divide between the culture-focused Herodotus and the military-focused Thucydides remains a point of contention or approach in modern historical writing. In the Eastern tradition, a state chronicle the Spring and Autumn Annals was known to be compiled from as early as 722 BCE although only 2nd century BCE texts survived.

Chambers 20th Century Dictionary(5.00 / 3 votes)Rate this definition:

1. History

   his′to-ri, n. an account of an event: a systematic account of the origin and progress of a nation: the knowledge of facts, events, &c.: an eventful life, a past of more than common interest, as a 'woman with a history:' a drama representing historical events.—v.t. (rare) to record.—n. His′tōrian, a writer of history.—adjs. Histō′riāted, adorned with figures, esp. of men or animals, as the medieval illuminated manuscripts, capital letters, initials &c.; Histor′ic, -al, pertaining to history: containing history: derived from history: famous in history: authentic.—adv. Histor′ically.—v.t. and v.i. Histor′icise, to make, or represent as, historic.—ns. Historic′ity, historical character; Historiette′, a short history or story.—v.t. Histor′ify, to record in history.—n. Historiog′rapher, a writer of history: a professed or official historian.—adjs. Historiograph′ic, -al, pertaining to the writing of history.—adv. Historiograph′ically.—ns. Historiog′raphy, the art or employment of writing history; Historiol′ogy, the knowledge or study of history.—Historical method, the study of a subject in its historical development; Historical painting, the painting of historic scenes, or scenes in which historic figures are introduced; Historical present, the present tense used for the past, to add life and reality to the narrative, as in 'cometh' in Mark, v. 22.—Ancient history, the history of the world down to the fall of Rome, 476 A.D.; Medieval history, the history of the period between the fall of Rome and the beginning of the 16th century; Modern history, history since the beginning of the 16th century; Natural history, originally an expression including all the concrete sciences, now the science of living things: (in frequent use) zoology, esp. in so far as that is concerned with the life and habits of animals; Profane, Secular, history, the history of secular affairs as opposed to Sacred history, which deals with the events in the Bible narrative. [L.,—Gr. historia—histōr, knowing; cf. eidenai, to know, L. vidēre, Sans. vid, Eng. wit.]

The Roycroft Dictionary(3.00 / 2 votes)Rate this definition:

1. history

   1. A collection of epitaphs. 2. Gossip well told.

The Foolish Dictionary, by Gideon Wurdz(3.40 / 5 votes)Rate this definition:

1. HISTORY

   The evil that men do.

British National Corpus

1. Spoken Corpus Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'history' in Spoken Corpus Frequency: #462

2. Written Corpus Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'history' in Written Corpus Frequency: #1070

3. Nouns Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'history' in Nouns Frequency: #182

How to pronounce history?

1. 

   Alex

   US English

   

   Daniel

   British

   

   Karen

   Australian

   

   Veena

   Indian

How to say history in sign language?

Numerology

1. Chaldean Numerology

   The numerical value of history in Chaldean Numerology is: 5

2. Pythagorean Numerology

   The numerical value of history in Pythagorean Numerology is: 6

Examples of history in a Sentence

1. Everett Piper:

   History has taught us time and again that political power always raises its angry fist when timeless principles are lost. We know that without the scale of self-evident truths grounded in the laws of nature and nature's God, every culture eventually finds itself subject to the rule of the gang or the tyranny of the individual. Recognizing this, scholars of all ages have confidently given their hearts and minds to the words, You shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free.

2. Paul Taylor:

   We take preserving the history of our Navy very seriously, the history of the Navy is the history of the nation.

3. Shahid Sattar:

   The security situation should not deter exploration; it doesn't anywhere else, but the government has a history of reneging on signed contracts, which creates uncertainty.

4. The Journal:

   The commission issued an order requiringPhillipsto cease and desist discriminating against same-sex couples, and the Colorado Court of Appeals affirmed. But the commission violatedPhillips‘ rights, [Supreme CourtJustice Anthony] Kennedy said, because its ‘treatment of his case has some elements of a clear and impermissible hostility toward the sincere religious beliefs that motivated his objection.’ Kennedy cited the comments of one commissioner, who said religion has been used to justify all kinds of discrimination throughout history, including slavery and the Holocaust….

5. Ling Chengxing:

   We must note that smoking has hundreds of years of history and objectively a market demand for cigarettes still exists, tobacco control is long term, complex and arduous work, and one-sided, absolutist and expansionist tendencies should be carefully avoided.

Images & Illustrations of history

Popularity rank by frequency of use