01 a. Of or pertaining to history, or the record of past events; as, an historical poem; the historic page.
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1.
Of or pertaining to history, or the record of past events; as, an historical poem; the historic page.“There warriors frowning in historic brass.” — Pope.
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2.
having once lived, existed, or taken place in the real world; -- contrasted with legendary; as, the historical Jesus; doubt that a historical Camelot every existed; actual historical events.
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3.
Belonging to the past; as, historical (or historic) times; a historical character.
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4.
Within the period of time recorded in written documents; as, within historic times. Opposite of prehistoric.
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Phrases & compounds
Historical painting —
that branch of painting which represents the events of history.
Historical sense —
that meaning of a passage which is deduced from the circumstances of time, place, etc., under which it was written.
The historic sense —
the capacity to conceive and represent the unity and significance of a past era or age.
Syn.
diachronic.