history

Syllabification: (his·to·ry)

Pronunciation: /ˈhist(ə)rē/

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Definition of history

noun (plural histories)

1the study of past events, particularly in human affairs:medieval European history
the past considered as a whole:letters that have changed the course of history

2the whole series of past events connected with someone or something:the history of Aegean painting
an eventful past:the group has quite a history
a past characterized by a particular thing:his family had a history of insanity

3a continuous, typically chronological, record of important or public events or of a particular trend or institution:a history of the labor movement
a historical play:Shakespeare’s comedies, histories, and tragedies

Phrases

be history: be perceived as no longer relevant to the present:the mainframe will soon be history I was making a laughingstock of myself, but that’s history now; informal used to indicate imminent departure, dismissal, or death:an inch either way and you’d be history
go down in history: be remembered or recorded in history.
make history: do something that is remembered in or influences the course of history.
the rest is history: used to indicate that the events succeeding those already related are so well known that they need not be recounted again:they teamed up, discovered that they could make music, and the rest is history

Origin:

late Middle English (also as a verb): via Latin from Greek historia 'finding out, narrative, history', from histōr 'learned, wise man', from an Indo-European root shared by wit²

history in other Oxford dictionaries

Definition of history in the British & World English dictionary

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Other

history

noun (plural histories)

Phrases

be history

go down in history

make history

the rest is history

Origin:

history in other Oxford dictionaries

Nearby words

More results for history

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