adj · noun · 8 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
Sound
Pronunciation
Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.
Received-Pronunciation:/hɪˈstɒɹɪk/
Received-Pronunciation:/ɪˈstɒɹɪk/
General-American:/hɪˈstoɹɪk/
General-American:/ɪˈstoɹɪk/
New-York-City, Philadelphia:/hɪˈstɑɹɪk/
New-York-City, Philadelphia:/ɪˈstɑɹɪk/
US:Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
rhymes with -ɒɹɪk
CMU ARPABET:HH IH0 S T AO1 R IH0 K
Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
1
adj
Meaning 1
Very important; noteworthy: having importance or significance in history.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Examples
A historic opportunity
July 4, 1776, is a historic date. A great deal of historical research has been done on the events leading up to that day.
The historical works of Lord Macaulay and Edward Gibbon are in and of themselves historic.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
2
adj
Meaning 2
Old-fashioned, untouched by modernity.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
3
adj
Meaning 3
Synonym of historical: of, concerning, or in accordance with recorded history or the past generally (See usage notes.)
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: uncommon
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: historical
Antonyms: none provided
4
adj
Meaning 4
Various grammatical tenses and moods specially used in retelling past events.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
The historic tenses include the imperfect, the pluperfect, and the future perfect.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
5
noun
Meaning 5
A history, a non-fiction account of the past.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: obsolete
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
6
noun
Meaning 6
A historian.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: obsolete
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
7
adjective satellite
Meaning 7
important in history
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
Examples
the historic first voyage to outer space
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
8
adjective satellite
Meaning 8
belonging to the past; of what is important or famous in the past
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
Examples
historic victories
historical (or historic) times
a historical character
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: historical
Antonyms: none provided
History
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 historia Proto-Indo-European *-ikos Proto-Italic *-ikos Latin -icus Latin historicusder. English historic From Latin historicus (“historical”), from Ancient Greek ἱστορικός (historikós, “exact; historical”). Cognate with French historique. By surface analysis, history + -ic.
Across languages
Translations
41 source translations are retained for this English entry.
Asturian:
históricu
— having significance in history
Bashkir:
тарихи
(tarixi)
— having significance in history
Bengali:
ঐতিহাসিক
(ōitihaśik)
— having significance in history
Bulgarian:
исторически
(istoričeski)
— having significance in history
Catalan:
històric
— having significance in history
Chinese Mandarin:
有歷史意義的 /有历史意义的
(yǒu lìshǐ yìyì de)
— having significance in history
Chinese Mandarin:
歷史性的 /历史性的
(lìshǐxìng de)
— having significance in history
Dutch:
historisch
— having significance in history
Estonian:
ajalooline
— having significance in history
Finnish:
historiallinen
— having significance in history
French:
historique
— having significance in history
Galician:
histórico
— having significance in history
Georgian:
ისტორიული
(isṭoriuli)
— having significance in history
German:
historisch
— having significance in history
German:
geschichtsträchtig
— having significance in history
Haitian Creole:
istorik
— having significance in history
Hindi:
ऐतिहासिक
(aitihāsik)
— having significance in history
Hungarian:
történelmi
— having significance in history
Italian:
storico
— having significance in history
Italian:
storica
— having significance in history
Korean:
역사적인
(yeoksajeogin)
— having significance in history
Northern Kurdish:
dîrokî
— having significance in history
Latin:
historicus
— having significance in history
Latvian:
vēsturisks
— having significance in history
Norwegian Bokmål:
historisk
— having significance in history
Norwegian Nynorsk:
historisk
— having significance in history
Occitan:
istoric
— having significance in history
Polish:
historyczny
— having significance in history
Portuguese:
histórico
— having significance in history
Romanian:
istoric
— having significance in history
Russian:
истори́ческий
(istoríčeskij)
— having significance in history
Scottish Gaelic:
eachdraidheil
— having significance in history
Serbo-Croatian:
pȍvijēsnī
— having significance in history
Slovene:
zgodovinski
— having significance in history
Spanish:
histórico
— having significance in history
Swedish:
historisk
— having significance in history
Tagalog:
makasaysayan
— having significance in history
Telugu:
చారిత్రక
(cāritraka)
— having significance in history
Turkish:
tarihî
— having significance in history
Turkish:
tarihsel
— having significance in history
Ukrainian:
істори́чний
(istorýčnyj)
— having significance in history
