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Added 9 October 2026

history

/ˈhɪs.tə.ɹi/ noun

In Latin: historia Wiktionary

noun Definition from WordNet 3.1, Princeton University. Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about history at Wordnik → Where our words come from →

The aggregate of past events.
a critical time in the school's history
A record or narrative description of past events.
a history of France
The discipline that records and interprets past events involving human beings.
he teaches Medieval history

Origin

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.

From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)

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