historic

 
Pronunciation: /hɪˈstɒrɪk/

adjective

  • 1famous or important in history, or potentially so: the area’s numerous historic sites a historic occasion
  • archaic of or concerning history; of the past: eruptions in historic times
  • 2 Grammar (of a tense) used in the narration of past events, especially Latin and Greek imperfect and pluperfect.

Origin:

early 17th century (in the sense 'relating to or in accordance with history'): via Latin from Greek historikos, from historia 'narrative, knowing by enquiry' (see history)

1 On the use of an historic moment or a historic moment, see an (usage).2 Historic and historical are used in slightly different ways. Historic means ‘famous or important in history’, as in a historic occasion, whereas historical means ‘concerning history or historical events’, as in historical evidence: thus a historic event is one that was very important, whereas a historical event is something that happened in the past.