history

noun

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).

(countable) A record or narrative description of past events.

(countable) A set of events involving an entity.

(uncountable) Shared experience or interaction.

(uncountable) A historically significant event.

(countable, medicine) A list of past and continuing medical conditions of an individual or family.

(countable, computing) A record of previous user events, especially of visited web pages in a browser.

(informal) Something that no longer exists or is no longer relevant.

verb

(obsolete) To narrate or record.

Roots

historiahistor- · Greek · inquiry, account

Synonyms for history

chroniclen storyn annalsn historiographyn chronologyn recordn talen hagiologyn retellingv memorabilian

Synonyms & related words for history

Find synonyms, related words, and the definition of history — including chronicle, story, annals, historiography, chronology, record. Dendril is a free visual thesaurus that shows them on an interactive map where stronger matches sit closer to the center — no signup, no ads.

Words related to history

Explore words related to history — words associated with it, words that go with it, and its nearest matches in meaning. Related words include prehistorian, protohistory, chronography, historiographic, historian, historiographical, genealogize, witenagemot. Click any word to make it the center of the map and keep exploring the web of connections.

Synonyms for history

Common synonyms for history include chronicle, story, annals, historiography, chronology, record, tale, hagiology — words that share a close meaning. Hover or tap any word on the map for its definition and part of speech.

Where does history come from?

The word history breaks down into one root of Greek origin: the root histor-, from Greek historia (“inquiry, account”). Explore each root to see other English words built from the same source.