Definition of HISTORY

history

Plural: histories

Noun

  • A chronological record of past events.
  • the aggregate of past events
    • "a critical time in the school's history"
  • a record or narrative description of past events
    • "a history of France"
  • the discipline that records and interprets past events involving human beings
    • "he teaches Medieval history"
    • "history takes the long view"
  • the continuum of events occurring in succession leading from the past to the present and even into the future
    • "all of human history"
  • 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"
  • The aggregate of past events.
  • The empirical study of past events, as distinct from literature, myth, or scripture; the assessment of notable events.
  • The portion of the past that is known and recorded by this field of study, as opposed to all earlier and unknown times that preceded it (prehistory).
  • A set of events involving an entity.
  • A record or narrative description of past events.
  • A list of past and continuing medical conditions of an individual or family.
  • A record of previous user events, especially of visited web pages in a browser.
  • Something that no longer exists or is no longer relevant.
  • Shared experience or interaction.
  • A historically significant event.

Verb

  • To narrate or record.

Examples

  • a long and sordid history
  • A personal medical history is required for the insurance policy.
  • a short history of post-Columbian colonization
  • Every Scrabble game writes its own unique history of triumphs and near misses.
  • He dreams of an invention that will make history.
  • He has a history of cancer in his family.
  • He has had a lot of history with the police.
  • He teaches Latin American history at the university and publishes books about the Cold War.
  • History repeats itself if we don’t learn from its mistakes.
  • I really enjoyed Shakespeare's tragedies more than his histories.
  • I told him that if he doesn't get his act together, he's history.
  • I visited a great site yesterday but forgot the URL. Luckily, I didn't clear my history.
  • in all of human history and prehistory
  • in all recorded history
  • The family's history includes events best forgotten.
  • There is too much history between them for them to split up now.
  • This diagnosis is usually based solely on the history and physical examination, although laboratory tests are occasionally also obtained.
  • Thucydides wrote a history of the Peleponnesian War that uses different sources than Herodotus' work.
  • What is your medical history?
  • You are witnessing history!

Origin / Etymology

From Middle English historie, from Old French estoire, estorie (“chronicle, history, story”) (French histoire), from Latin historia, from Ancient Greek ἱστορίᾱ (historíā, “learning through research”), from ἱστορέω (historéō, “to research, inquire (and) record”), from ἵστωρ (hístōr, “the knowing, wise one”), from Proto-Indo-European *weyd- (“see, know”). Doublet of story and storey.
Attested in Middle English in 1393 by John Gower, Confessio Amantis, which was aimed at an educated audience familiar with French and Latin.

Synonyms

account, chronicle, story, background, log, medical history, past, tale

Scrabble Score: 13

history: valid Scrabble (US) TWL Word
history: valid Scrabble Word in Merriam-Webster MW Dictionary
history: valid Scrabble Word in International Collins CSW Dictionary

Words With Friends Score: 11

history: valid Words With Friends Word