# historical

Pronunciation: US say "hi-STOR-i-kuhl" /hɪˈstɔɹɪkəl/; UK say "hi-STO-ri-kuhl" /hɪˈstɒɹɪkəl/

## Adjective

1. Relating to or concerned with the past in general, rather than the present.
   - Simple: Connected with the past in a general way.
   - _The region's historical background shaped its modern borders._
   - _She enjoys reading about the historical context of old paintings._
2. Relating to or based on recorded history, as distinct from legend, myth, or fiction.
   - Simple: Connected with real people or events from recorded history, rather than legends, myths, or fiction.
   - _Scholars continue to debate whether the city's founding hero was a historical person._
   - _Archaeological finds gave the flood narrative a historical foundation._
3. Concerned with history, or depicting people and events from the past, especially of a story, film, or play set in an earlier period.
   - Simple: About people and events from the past, like a novel or film set long ago.
   - _The author specializes in historical fiction set during the Tudor era._
   - _Their historical documentary reconstructed the lives of medieval farmers._
4. Important, or likely to be important, to history and to historians; momentous.
   - Simple: Important enough to be remembered as part of history.
   - _The signing of the treaty was a historical moment celebrated across the country._
   - _Voters knew they were taking part in a historical election._
5. Relating to history as an academic discipline and its methods of study.
   - Simple: Connected with the study of history as a subject.
   - _The journal publishes historical scholarship on the medieval economy._
   - _His historical training emphasized careful reading of primary sources._
7. Of a verb tense or mood, used to narrate events that took place in the past.
   - Simple: Describing a verb tense or mood used to tell about past events.
   - _In the historical present, a narrator recounts past actions using present-tense verbs._
   - _Latin grammar describes a historical infinitive used in vivid narration._

## Adjective

6. Former or erstwhile; describing a status or role once held but no longer current. *(rare)*
   - Simple: Former, describing something that used to be true but no longer is.
   - _Saint Petersburg is Russia's historical capital, though the government has sat in Moscow since 1918._
   - _The port's historical role as a trading hub ended with the new railways._
8. Hereditary or evolutionary; transmitted by descent or arising through gradual development across generations. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: Passed down from parents, or slowly developing over many generations.

## Other meanings

- (noun) A romance novel whose love story unfolds in a recognizable past era.

## Origin

This comes from the Latin word historicus ("historical") combined with the suffix "-al." By surface analysis, it can also be seen as "history" plus "-ical."

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/historical (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).