history

/ˈhɪs.tə.ɹi/

//ˈhɪs.tə.ɹi// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"history" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“history” has 11 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #397. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#397
frequency rank, English
2,646
“H” headwords
11
tracked misspellings
3
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - The aggregate of past events.

Corpus desk

Index EN-history · history · English

history · rank #397 · 11 variants · 3 confusables

  • FREQ-CORE #397
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 3 pairs
  • VAR-MID 11 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,646
  • PHOTO-FINISH fuck

Nearest frequency peer: fuck (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “history”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “history” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

history vs hickory
71% similar
history vs histone
71% similar
history vs historic
75% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for history
PropertyValue
Headwordhistory
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈhɪs.tə.ɹi/
Letters7
Frequency rank#397
Misspellings tracked11
Confusable pairs3
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “history”

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).historylands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Same rarity band neighbours include “fuck” (#396), “known” (#398), “almost” (#395). Among 2,646 “H” headwords, “history” is #397. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 11 spelling variants around history (IPA /ˈhɪs.tə.ɹi/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #397 among 2,646 “H” headwords. Wiktionary lists 10 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 11 likely wrong-spelling variants for history, with forms such as "hhistory", "hisotry", and "hisstory". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 3 confusable-pair relationships, "hickory", "histone", "historic", a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English historie, from Old French estoire, estorie (“chronicle, history, story”) (French histoire), from Latin historia, from Ancient Greek ἱστορίᾱ (historíā, “learning through research”), from ἱστορέω (historéō, “to research, inquire (and) reco… The correct English form is history, spelled H-I-S-T-O-R-Y.

Definition

  1. 1
    The aggregate of past events.
  2. 2
    The empirical study of past events, as distinct from literature, myth, or scripture; the assessment of notable events.
  3. 3
    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).
  4. 4
    A set of events involving an entity.
  5. 5
    A record or narrative description of past events.
  6. 6
    A list of past and continuing medical conditions of an individual or family.
  7. 7
    A record of previous user events, especially of visited web pages in a browser.
  8. 8
    Something that no longer exists or is no longer relevant.
  9. 9
    Shared experience or interaction.
  10. 10
    A historically significant event.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how history appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. History repeats itself if we don’t learn from its mistakes.
  2. He dreams of an invention that will make history.

Etymology

From Middle English historie, from Old French estoire, estorie (“chronicle, history, story”) (French histoire), from Latin historia, from Ancient Greek ἱστορίᾱ (historíā, “learning through research”), from ἱστορέω (historéō, “to research, inquire (and) record”), from ἵστωρ (hístōr, “the knowing, wise one”), from Proto-Indo-European *weyd- (“see, know”). Doublet of story and storey. Attested in Middle English in 1393 by John Gower, Confessio Amantis, which was aimed at an educated audience familiar with French and Latin.

This word in other languages

historia(Español)histoire(Français)Geschichte(Deutsch)história(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • hhistory
  • hisotry
  • hisstory
  • historry
  • historyy
  • histoyr
  • histroy
  • histtory
  • hitsory
  • hsitory
  • ihstory

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of history - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

hhistory1hisotry2hisstory1historry1historyy1histoyr2histroy2histtory1
Edit distance from "history"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "history"?
"history" is spelled H-I-S-T-O-R-Y. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈhɪs.tə.ɹi/.
What does "history" mean?
As a noun, "history" means: The aggregate of past events.
What words are commonly confused with "history"?
"history" is commonly confused with "hickory", "histone", "historic". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "history"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "history" is /ˈhɪs.tə.ɹi/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "history"?
From Middle English historie, from Old French estoire, estorie (“chronicle, history, story”) (French histoire), from Latin historia, from Ancient Greek ἱστορίᾱ (historíā, “learning through research”), from ἱστορέω (historéō, “to research, inquire ... See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "history", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 7 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

problem#391several#404started#405control#384

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (11 here; floor ≥5).

playing11 variantspossible11 variantsfriends11 variantsmembers11 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list