history English · revision 2309

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=c. 1390 (Gower)|origins=ine-pro *weid-}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˈhɪs.tᵊr.i/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|histoire]] (also [[m|enm|historie]]),^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(MW Collegiate) [[bor|fro|estoire]] (also [[m|fro|histoire]]) and directly [[bor|la|historia|t=narrative, account, story]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) from [[grc|ἱστορία|tr=historía|t=learning by inquiry; a narrative]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(Klein 1966) from [[m|grc|ἵστωρ|tr=hístōr|t=knowing; a wise man, a judge]].^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(SOED 2002) This goes back to [[ine-pro|*wid-tōr]], from [[m|ine-pro|*weid-|t=to see]], hence “to know”,^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) and is related to Greek [[m|grc|ἰδεῖν|tr=ideîn|t=to see]], to [[idea]], [[vision]] and [[wit]].^(Etymonline)^(Klein 1966)^(Cresswell 2021) It is a [[doublet]] of [[story]].^(Barnhart 1988)^(Klein 1966)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ A story or narrative, true or invented: about 1390, in Gower's ''Confessio Amantis''.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ In Middle English ''history'' was not distinguished from ''story''.^(Etymonline)^(Cresswell 2021) The sense “a record of past events” appears about 1451^(Barnhart 1988) or in the late 15th century,^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) and in the late 15th century it also came to mean the events of the past themselves and the branch of knowledge that studies them.^(Etymonline) A history play is from the 1590s.^(Etymonline) From the 1560s ''history'' could also be a systematic account of natural phenomena without regard to time, a sense that survives in ''natural history''.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) ''Historian'' is from before 1439, in Lydgate,^(Barnhart 1988) ''historical'' from before 1425, and ''historic'' from 1669.^(Barnhart 1988) Henry Ford's “History is more or less bunk” dates from 1916.^(Cresswell 2021) ''To make history'' is from the mid-19th century, and ''to be history'' “to be dead or finished” from the 1930s.^(Cresswell 2021)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1390 – a story (Gower).^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * before 1425 – ''historical''.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * before 1439 – ''historian''.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * c. 1451 – a record of past events.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * late 15th century – past events; a branch of knowledge.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1560s – an account of natural phenomena.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1590s – a history play.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1669 – ''historic''.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1930s – ''to be history''.^(Cresswell 2021)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A chronological record of events, such as the life of a people or an [[institution]], often with explanation.^(AHD)^(OED 1989)

+ # The branch of knowledge that records and analyses past events.^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+ # Past events in general, or those connected with a particular person or thing.^(AHD)^(OED 1989)

+ # A record of a patient's medical background.^(AHD)

+ # A narrative or story.^(AHD)^(OED 1989)

+ # ''(archaic, except in natural history)'' A systematic account of natural phenomena.^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[story]]

+ * [[historian]]

+ * [[historic]]

+ * [[historical]]

+ * [[idea]]

+ * [[vision]]

+ * [[wit]]

+ * [[wise]]

+ * [[video]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ RHWU lists ''record'' and ''annals'' as near-synonyms of the sense “a chronological record”.^(RHWU)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}