Historic

Podcast 1 · Introduction

Historic

A documentary-style narration: origin, meaning, and feel.

Part of speech

adjective

Pronunciation

his-TOR-ik  /hɪˈstɒrɪk/

Definition

Famous or important in history; of great historical significance; having a long and notable history; likely to be regarded as historically important.

Plain meaning

Historic means historically significant — important enough to be remembered or studied as part of history. A historic building is one that is old and important enough to deserve preservation. A historic moment is one that will be remembered as a turning point. Historic differs from historical: historic means significant; historical means relating to history.

Register

Formal and elevated in tone. Historic implies genuine historical significance and carries a weight that historical does not. In political and journalistic rhetoric, historic is sometimes overused — applied to events that do not ultimately prove as significant as claimed. Careful writers reserve it for events that are genuinely consequential.