historic

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The observatories announced what they called a historic discovery of a planetary "first family" yesterday in Science Express, the online version of the journal Science.

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Definitions (7)

Toggle American Heritage definitions American Heritage Dictionary (3)

  1. adjective Having importance in or influence on history.
  2. adjective Historical.
  3. usage note
    Historic and historical have different usages, though their senses overlap. Historic refers to what is important in history: the historic first voyage to the moon. It is also used of what is famous or interesting because of its association with persons or events in history: a historic house. Historical refers to whatever existed in the past, whether regarded as important or not: a minor historical character. Historical also refers to anything concerned with history or the study of the past: a historical novel; historical discoveries. While these distinctions are useful, these words are often used interchangeably, as in historic times or historical times.

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Examples (42)

  • This chain of problems had led him to what he calls the historic study of morality, though we may doubt whether history was so much his teacher as the rather meagrely nourished handmaid of his imagination. —  Rousseau (Volume 1 of 2)
  • Newfoundland and Quebec reached what Premier Danny Williams described as a historic deal Thursday that will, for the first time, see Labrador hydroelectric power transmitted through Quebec to the North American marketplace. —  Latest Articles
  • Call it what you like -- historic, unprecedented, apocalyptic -- —  Law.com - Newswire
  • This was previously known as the historic Minnesota Club. —  Find Free Articles - ArticlesBase
  • The word that rolls off everyone's tongue is "historic" - historic election-and I agree with that. —  HALFWAY TO CONCORD
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Roget's II Roget's II: The New Thesaurus

Allen's Allen's Synonyms and Antonyms

Used in the same context Used in the Same Context

historical ·  actual ·  grand ·  entire
Roget's II: The New Thesaurus, Third Edition by the Editors of the American Heritage® Dictionary. Copyright © 2003, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Etymologies (1)

Toggle Century etymologies Century Dictionary (1)

  1. from French historique = Spanish histórico = Portuguese historico = Italian istorico (cf. D. G. historisch = Danish Swedish historisk), from Latin historicus, from Greek ἱστορικός, from ἱστορία, history: see history.
 

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/hɪsˈtɑrɪk/
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