history

Where “history” sits in English frequency

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.

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

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.

Frequently Asked Questions