Historical

Podcast 1 · Introduction

Historical

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

Part of speech

adjective

Pronunciation

his-TOR-ih-kul  /hɪˈstɒrɪk(ə)l/

Definition

Of or concerning history or past events; relating to the study of history; used in or based on historical records; pertaining to things that occurred in the past.

Plain meaning

Historical means relating to history or the past — historical evidence, a historical novel, a historical document. It is the neutral, descriptive adjective for anything connected with history. Historical is not the same as historic, which means significant in history.

Register

Neutral and formal. Historical is standard in academic, journalistic, legal, and everyday contexts. It is the appropriate adjective for most references to history — historical records, historical context, historical analysis.