Definition of: history

(his′tə·rē, his′trē) noun plural ·ries
1. A recorded narrative of past events, especially those concerning a particular period, nation, individual, etc.
2. The branch of knowledge dealing with the records of the past, especially those involving human affairs.
3. The aggregate of events concerning a given subject, recorded or unrecorded.
4. Past events in general: in the course of history.
5. A past worthy of notice; an eventful career.
6. Something in the past: This is all history now.
7. Med. The facts received from a patient concerning his health, past and present, together with current symptoms: in full, medical history.
8. A historical drama. [<L historia <Gk., knowledge, narrative <histōr knowing. Doublet of STORY.] Synonyms: account, annals, archives, autobiography, biography, chronicle, memoir, memorial, muniment, narration, narrative, recital, record, register, story. History is a systematic record of past events. Annals and chronicles relate events with little regard to their relative importance, and with complete subserviency to their succession in time. Annals (L annus, year) are yearly records; chronicles (Gk. chronos, time) follow the order of time. Both necessarily lack emphasis, selection, and perspective. Archives are public records, which may be annals, or chronicles, or deeds of property, etc. Memoirs generally record the lives of individuals or facts pertaining to individual lives. A biography is distinctively a written account of one person's life and actions; an autobiography is a biography written by the person whose life it records. Annals, archives, chronicles, biographies, and memoirs and other records furnish the materials of history. History recounts events with careful attention to their importance, their mutual relations, their causes and consequences, selecting and grouping events on the ground of interest or importance. History is usually applied to such an account of events affecting communities and nations, yet sometimes we speak of the history of a single eminent life. Compare RECORD. Antonyms: see synonyms for FICTION.