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

Princeton's WordNet(4.04 / 24 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(2.75 / 8 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(3.51 / 8 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(4.23 / 13 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. Erik Pevernagie:

   The whole wire system of the brain could be disconnected in a spark of a second by a sometimes unsignificant detail. An unexpected incident or an innocuous phone call may provoke an ethereal distress that might plunge one’s life into chaos and like a sudden twist of fate overturn everything, ransacking the assembled experiences of our history. (“Alors, tout a basculé”)

2. Fox News contributor Charles Krauthammer:

   He's to the left of [Clinton] on trade and that leaves us with an election where there's nobody to defend trade, this is new in modern American political history.

3. Vicente Lim:

   With all this talk I sincerely give the credit to my officers and enlisted men. They are the ones who did it all. Mine is only to inspire and to lead them. When history is written I will give them all the credit. Their satisfaction is mine to share.

4. John Hannah:

   At every turn, the American people can see with their own eyes how tragically wrong the President has been, instead of being the JV team, they turn out to be the most powerful terrorist group in history.

5. Lewis F. Powell, Jr.:

   History balances the frustration of how far we have to go with the satisfaction of how far we have come. It teaches us tolerance for the human shortcomings and imperfections which are not uniquely of our generation, but of all time.

Images & Illustrations of history

Popularity rank by frequency of use