historic

historic, historical

Both words are used to mean ‘of or concerning history, belonging to the past rather than the present’, but historical is the more objective word denoting something that happened in the past, whereas historic describes not simply what belongs to the past but what has an important role in the past, i.e. it means ‘famous or important with regard to history’. A historical treaty is one that took place (as opposed to one that is fictitious); a historic treaty is one that is of great importance in history (as opposed to one that is insignificant). Historic is often used with reference to buildings and monuments:

• The president of the Historic Houses Association…plays down too much euphoria over the Chancellor's proposed substitution of inheritance tax for capital transfer tax —Daily Telegraph, 1986

• After visiting the Hayward Gallery I spent a half-hour just gazing along the river line, the historic buildings sharp in the clear, cold, sunny air —D. M. Thomas, 1990.

When the meanings are confused, it is usually historic that is used when historical would be more appropriate:

• Extinct volcanoes are those that have not erupted in historic time, whereas active volcanoes have been seen to erupt —M. A. Summerfield, 1991

• It may involve the use of relevant historic documents —R. Brooks, 1993.