history

The word “history” means the study of past events, or the events themselves considered together.

“History” is pronounced HIHS-tuh-ree (/ˈhɪs.tə.ɹi/ in IPA).

Here is “history” used in a sentence: “She majored in history at university.”

“History” is a noun.

The word “history” comes from Latin. From Latin historia, from Greek historíā ("inquiry, knowledge gained by investigation"), ultimately from a root meaning "to know" or "to see.".

“History” is a very common word in modern English, usually learned at around the A1 level.

“History” has 3 distinct senses listed in this dictionary. The most common is: the study of past events, or the events themselves considered together.

The past is everything that has already happened. History is our record and study of it — the selected, researched, and written account that historians build from evidence. The past is gone and complete; history is the ongoing effort to understand it. So history is always a version of the past, not the past itself.

History divides into many fields, such as political, social, economic, military, cultural, and art history. It is also split by period (ancient, medieval, modern) and by place (world history, national history). Related disciplines like archaeology and archival study support it. Each branch examines the past through its own particular lens.

History helps us understand how the present came to be, revealing the causes behind current societies, borders, and ideas. It offers lessons from past successes and mistakes, builds shared identity and memory, and trains us to weigh evidence critically. Knowing history makes it far harder to be misled about where we came from.

History, in the strict sense, covers the period for which written records exist. Prehistory is the vast stretch of human existence before writing, known only through physical remains studied by archaeology. The invention of writing marks the boundary, which fell at different times in different parts of the world.