his·tor·ic

(hĭ-stôr′ĭk, -stŏr′-)

adj.

1. Having importance in or influence on history.

2. Historical.

Usage Note: Historic and historical have similar, though usually distinct, meanings. Historic refers to that which is associated with significant events in history: the historic first voyage to the moon. Thus, a historic house is likely to be of interest not just because it is relatively old, but because an important person lived in it or was otherwise associated with it. In contrast, historical refers more generally to that which happened in the past, regardless of significance: a minor historical character in the novel, the historical architecture in the center of town. These distinctions are not always observed, however, and a historic tour of a city might include the same sights as a historical tour. Therefore, it is important to make sure that the context makes the intended meaning clear.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

historic

(hɪˈstɒrɪk)

adj

1. famous or likely to become famous in history; significant

2. (Historical Terms) a less common word for historical¹, historical², historical³, historical⁴, historical⁵

3. (Linguistics) linguistics Also: secondary (of Latin, Greek, or Sanskrit verb tenses) referring to past time

Usage: A distinction is usually made between historic (important, significant) and historical (pertaining to history): a historic decision; a historical perspective

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

his•tor•ic

(hɪˈstɔr ɪk, -ˈstɒr-)

adj.

1. well-known or important in history: a historic building.

2. historical.

[1605–15; < Latin < Greek]

historic

– historical

1. 'historic'

You use historic to say that something was important in history, or that it will be regarded as important in the future.

...their historic struggle for emancipation.

...a historic decision.

2. 'historical'

You use historical to say that someone or something really existed or happened in the past, rather than being invented by a writer.

Which historical figure would be guest of honour at your house-warming party?

Historical novels, plays, and films deal with real or imaginary events in the past.

...Richard of Bordeaux, a historical play by Gordon Daviot.

Historical occurs in the names of some organizations concerned with the subject of history.

...the German Historical Institute.

However, if you want to say that something relates to the teaching of history, you use history in front of another noun. You do not use 'historic' or 'historical'.

...a history book.

...a history lesson.

Collins COBUILD English Usage © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 2004, 2011, 2012

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Adj.	1.	historic - belonging to the past; of what is important or famous in the past; "historic victories"; "historical (or historic) times"; "a historical character" historical past - earlier than the present time; no longer current; "time past"; "his youth is past"; "this past Thursday"; "the past year"
	2.	historic - important in history; "the historic first voyage to outer space" important, of import - of great significance or value; "important people"; "the important questions of the day"

historic

adjective significant, notable, momentous, famous, celebrated, extraordinary, outstanding, remarkable, ground-breaking, consequential, red-letter, epoch-making the historic changes in Eastern Europe
ordinary, unknown, unimportant, uncelebrated

Usage: Although historic and historical are similarly spelt they are very different in meaning and should not be used interchangeably. A distinction is usually made between historic, which means `important' or `significant', and historical, which means `pertaining to history': a historic decision; a historical perspective.

Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

historic

adjective

Having great significance:

big, consequential, considerable, important, large, material, meaningful, monumental, significant, substantial.

Translations

تاريخي، مُهم جدا

historický

historisk

historisch

ιστορικός

histórico

historiquehistorisant

povijesni

sögufrægur

historicus

istoric

zgodovinski

historic

[hɪsˈtɒrɪk] ADJ → histórico

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

historic

[hɪˈstɒrɪk] adj

(= momentous) [agreement, decision] → historique; [victory] → historique; [opportunity] → historique
an historic opportunity to redraw the political map of the Middle East → une occasion historique de redessiner la carte politique du Moyen-Orient
an historic moment → un moment historique

= historical

historic

adj (also Gram) → historisch

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

historic

[hɪsˈtɒrɪk] adj → storico/a

history

(ˈhistəri) – plural ˈhistories – noun

1. the study of events etc that happened in the past. She is studying British history; (also adjective) a history lesson/book.

2. a description usually in writing of past events, ways of life etc. I'm writing a history of Scotland.

3. (the description of) the usually interesting events etc associated with (something). This desk/word has a very interesting history.

hiˈstorian (-ˈstoː-) noun

a person who studies (and writes about) history.

hiˈstoric (-ˈsto-) adjective

famous or important in history. a historic battle.

hiˈstorical (-ˈsto-) adjective

1. of or about history; of or about people or events from history. historical research; historical novels.

2. that actually happened or existed, not legendary or mythical. Was Shakespeare's character Macbeth a historical person?

hiˈstorically (-ˈsto-) adverb

make history

to do something very important, especially to be the first to do something. The Wright brothers made history when they were the first to fly an aeroplane.