history
/ˈhɪs.tə.ɹi/
Word Rarity
Common
Frequency: 5.39 in modern English
13
Scrabble Score
7
Letters
3
Syllables
7
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
The empirical study of past events, as distinct from literature, myth, or scripture; the assessment of notable events.
Countable; Uncountable
noun
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.
Countable; Uncountable
Example Sentences
- "The history of mammals stretches back many millions of years."
- "History repeats itself if we don’t learn from its mistakes."
- "He dreams of an invention that will make history."
- "With some of it on the south and more of it on the north of the great main thoroughfare that connects Aldgate and the East India Docks, St. Bede's at this period of its history was perhaps the poorest and most miserable parish in the East End of London."
- "Few concepts are as emotionally charged as that of race. The word conjures up a mixture of associations—culture, ethnicity, genetics, subjugation, exclusion and persecution. But is the tragic history of efforts to define groups of people by race really a matter of the misuse of science, the abuse of a valid biological concept?"
- "So, we have a shared history - we will also have a shared future."
Etymology
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *weyd- Proto-Indo-European *-tōr Proto-Indo-European *wéydtōr Proto-Hellenic *wístōr Ancient Greek ῐ̔́στωρ (hĭ́stōr) 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 ῐ̔στορῐ́ᾱ (hĭstorĭ́ā)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.
Origin
Word Breakdown
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˈhɪs.tə.ɹi/
- British English: /ˈhɪs.tə.ɹi/