English
Pronunciation
(Received Pronunciation|UK) IPA|/hɪ�st�ɹɪk/, SAMPA|/hI"stQrIk/
(General American|US) IPA|/hɪ�st��ɹɪk/, SAMPA|/hI"stO:rIk/
Rhymes: Rhymes:English:-�rɪk|-�rɪk
Adjective
historic
- having importance or significance in history
- belonging to the past; historical (see note below)
Usage notes
Sentences involving the word "historic" sometimes use "a historic" and sometimes use "an historic". The rule that "an" is used before vowel sounds is confounded by the wide variety in pronunciation (particularly regional) of the sometimes-silent 'h'. For example, in the US, the 'h' generally is not silent (ever.) See the Wikipedia article on w:Semivowel|Semivowels for more detail.
Modern convention makes a distinction between historic and historical, although the two words are variants and have shared the same meanings for much of their history. Historic pertains to an important event of history, while historical pertains to any event that happened in the past whether important or not, as well as to places and things pertaining to history.
: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.
Translations
Dutch: historisch
French: historique
German: historisch
mid
Italian: storico, storica
Korean: ì�ì�¬ì �ì�¸
Kurdish: t|ku|dîrokî
Latin: historicus
Romanian: istoric
Russian: иÑ�Ñ�оÑ�иÑ�еÑ�кий /istorÃÄ�eskij/
Slovene: zgodovinski m, zgodovinska f, zgodovinsko n
References
Words @ Random
The American Heritage® Book of English Usage.
Paul Brians ''Common Errors in English Usage''
English Plus+
The UVic Writer's Guide
Garbl's Writing Center
Category:Time
fr:historic
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ku:historic
ja:historic
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vi:historic
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