Word: history Part of Speech: noun Etymology: Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *weyd- Proto-Indo-European *-tōr Proto-Indo-European *wéydtōr Proto-Hellenic *wístōr Ancient Greek ἵστωρ (hístōr) Proto-Indo-European *-eti Proto-Indo-European *-eyéti Proto-Indo-European *-esyéti Proto-Indo-European *-éh₁ti Proto-Indo-European *-yeti Proto-Indo-European *-éh₁yeti Proto-Indo-European *-yeti Proto-Indo-European *-éyeti Ancient Greek -έω (-éō) Ancient Greek ῐ̔στορέω (hĭstoréō) Proto-Indo-European *-h₂ Proto-Indo-European *-éh₂ Proto-Indo-European *-i-eh₂ Proto-Hellenic *-íā Ancient Greek -ῐ́ᾱ (-ĭ́ā) Ancient Greek ἱστορία (historía)bor. Latin historiader. Old French estoire Old French estorie Old French historiebor. Middle English historie English history 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. Pronunciation: /ˈhɪs.tə.ɹi/, /ˈhɪs.tɹi/, /ˈhɪst͡ʃ(ə)ɹɪj/, /ˈhɪst(ə)ɹɪj/, /ˈhəs.tə.ɹi/ 1. The aggregate of past events, both unrecorded and recorded. Labels: countable, uncountable Example: The history of mammals stretches back many millions of years. Example: History repeats itself if we don’t learn from its mistakes. 2. The empirical study of past events, as distinct from literature, myth, or scripture; the assessment of notable events. Labels: countable, uncountable Example: He teaches Latin American history at the university and publishes books about the Cold War. Example: History and experience act as a filter that can distort as much as elucidate. It is largely forgotten now, overlooked in the one-line description of Tony Blair and George W Bush as the men who lied about Iraq's weapons of mass destruction, but there was a wider context to their conviction. 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. Labels: countable, uncountable Example: Near-synonym: ages Example: in all of human history and prehistory 4. A set of events involving an entity. Labels: countable Example: a long and sordid history Example: What is your medical history? 5. A record or narrative description of past events. Labels: countable Example: I really enjoyed Shakespeare's tragedies more than his histories. Example: a short history of post-Columbian colonization 6. A list of past and continuing medical conditions of an individual or family. Labels: countable Example: A personal medical history is required for the insurance policy. Example: He has a history of cancer in his family. 7. A record of previous user events, especially of visited web pages in a browser. Labels: countable Example: I visited a great site yesterday but forgot the URL. Luckily, I didn't clear my history. Example: When you do that, the browser window has no browser history, so it doesn't report a referrer page to the first site you visit. 8. Something that no longer exists or is no longer relevant. Labels: countable, informal, uncountable Example: I told him that if he doesn't get his act together, he's history. 9. Shared experience or interaction. Labels: uncountable Example: There is too much history between them for them to split up now. Example: He has had a lot of history with the police. 10. A historically significant event. Labels: uncountable Example: You are witnessing history! Example: We have a new president: Barack Obama. I never thought a black man would be elected. It's exciting! It's history!