historical

historical
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.


Modern English usage. 2014.

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Look at other dictionaries:

  • historical — [his tôr′i kəl, histär′i kəl] adj. [< L historicus + AL] 1. of or concerned with history as a science [the historical method] 2. providing evidence for a fact of history; serving as a source of history [a historical document] 3. based on or… …   English World dictionary

  • historical — UK US /hɪˈstɒrɪkəl/ adjective (also historic) FINANCE, ECONOMICS ► used to describe past prices or values: »The company offers real time and historical information on stocks, options, commodities, futures, indices, and currencies. »Historical… …   Financial and business terms

  • historical — early 15c. (earlier in same sense was historial, late 14c.), from L. historicus (from Gk. historikos historical, of or for inquiry, from historia; see HISTORY (Cf. history)) + AL (Cf. al) (1). Related: Historically …   Etymology dictionary

  • historical — index honest, traditional Burton s Legal Thesaurus. William C. Burton. 2006 …   Law dictionary

  • historical — [adj] recorded as actually having happened actual, ancient, archival, attested, authentic, chronicled, classical, commemorated, documented, factual, important, in truth, old, past, real, verifiable; concepts 548,582,820 Ant. fictional …   New thesaurus

  • historical — ► ADJECTIVE 1) of or concerning history. 2) belonging to or set in the past. 3) (of the study of a subject) based on an analysis of its development over a period. DERIVATIVES historically adverb …   English terms dictionary

  • historical — historically, adv. historicalness, n. /hi stawr i keuhl, stor /, adj. 1. of, pertaining to, treating, or characteristic of history or past events: historical records; historical research. 2. based on or reconstructed from an event, custom, style …   Universalium

  • historical — [[t]hɪstɒ̱rɪk(ə)l, AM tɔ͟ːr [/t]] ♦♦♦ 1) ADJ: ADJ n Historical people, situations, or things existed in the past and are considered to be a part of history. ...an important historical figure. ...the historical impact of Western capitalism on the… …   English dictionary

  • historical — historic his*tor ic (h[i^]s*t[o^]r [i^]k), historical his*tor ic*al (h[i^]s*t[o^]r [i^]*kal), a. [L. historicus, Gr. istoriko s: cf. F. historique. See {History}.] Of or pertaining to history, or the record of past events; as, an historical poem; …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • historical — his|tor|i|cal [ hı stɔrıkl ] adjective usually before noun *** 1. ) connected with history or the past: The painting depicts an actual historical event. There are no historical precedents for a President resigning in mid term. The Abbey is a… …   Usage of the words and phrases in modern English

  • historical */*/*/ — UK [hɪˈstɒrɪk(ə)l] / US [hɪˈstɔrɪk(ə)l] adjective [usually before noun] 1) connected with history or with the past The painting depicts an actual historical event. There are no historical precedents for a President resigning in mid term. The… …   English dictionary

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