historical

IPA/hɪˈstɒrɪkl/
KK[hɪstˈɔrɪkəl]IPA/hɪˈstɔːrɪkl/

historical — adjective

  • historicalpositive
  • more historicalcomparative
  • most historicalsuperlative

1. relating to or based on the study of past events, people, or societies — for exa

1.adjectiveB1
Definition

relating to or based on the study of past events, people, or societies — for example, historical research, historical novels, or historical documents that preserve factual accounts of earlier times.

Example

The museum's historical exhibit traces the city's growth from a small fishing village.

attributive use: historical + noun

Professor Obi specialises in historical linguistics and how languages change over time.

collocation: historical + academic field

Common collocations
  • historical research
  • historical novel
  • historical document
  • historical record
  • historical event
  • historical figure
  • historical context
  • historical perspective
Synonyms
  • past

    broader and more everyday; 'past events' can be recent or ancient, while 'historical' carries a sense of documented record

  • recorded

    emphasises written or documented evidence rather than any connection to the past

  • archival

    narrower scope, specifically referring to preserved records in an archive

Antonyms
  • contemporary

    referring to the present time rather than the past

  • current

    emphasises present-day relevance rather than past events

Usage Note

Most commonly placed before a noun. 'Historical' simply means 'related to the past,' while 'historic' carries the extra meaning of being important or famous in history — a historic battle versus a historical novel.

Common Mistakes

That castle is very historical.
That castle is very historic.
when you mean it is important and famous in history, use 'historic,' not 'historical.'

2. relating to prices, amounts, or other numerical information that was recorded in

2.adjectiveB2
Definition

relating to prices, amounts, or other numerical information that was recorded in the past, often used as a basis for comparison with current figures.

Example

Investors studied the company's historical sales figures before making a decision.

collocation: historical + figures / data

The bank uses historical interest rates to predict future trends.

Common collocations
  • historical data
  • historical prices
  • historical values
  • historical cost
  • historical sales figures
  • historical interest rates
Synonyms
  • past

    more general and less technical; 'past data' is simpler but lacks the analytical tone of 'historical data'

  • previous

    focuses on the immediately preceding period rather than any past time

  • prior

    formal and often refers to a specific earlier period in a sequence

Antonyms
  • current

    describes present-day rather than past figures

  • projected

    refers to future estimates, the opposite of past records

Usage Note

Appears before nouns such as data, prices, values, costs, and figures. Common in business reports, financial analysis, and statistical comparisons where past numbers are set against present ones.

3. describing a crime or illegal act that was committed at some earlier time, often

3.adjectiveB2
Definition

describing a crime or illegal act that was committed at some earlier time, often one that was not investigated or prosecuted when it occurred.

Example

The police arrested him for a historical crime that took place over a decade ago.

collocation: historical + crime / offence

New evidence led to the reopening of several historical cases of fraud.

Common collocations
  • historical crime
  • historical offence
  • historical case
  • historical allegation
  • historical abuse
  • historical sexual offence
Synonyms
  • past

    less formal and not specific to legal contexts; 'past crimes' is everyday language

  • prior

    formal, but does not carry the same legal nuance of a long-unresolved offence

Antonyms
  • recent

    describes offences that happened a short time ago

  • fresh

    informal; emphasises that the crime just took place

Usage Note

Most frequent in legal and journalistic writing, especially with nouns such as crime, offence, allegation, abuse, and case. This sense is especially common in British legal contexts for offences that happened long before they came to court.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: adjective/1

All four words connect to bygone times but differ in scope and connotation. 'Historical' is the broadest: it describes anything relating to or documented from the past — a historical novel, a historical event. 'Historic' narrows the meaning to something important or famous in history ('a historic peace treaty'). 'Past' is the everyday, informal option that works for any time frame ('past mistakes', 'past weather'), but lacks the scholarly or documentary tone of 'historical.' 'Ancient' reaches further back, typically to classical or pre-medieval times, and often carries a sense of remoteness. 'Archival' is the most specialised, referring strictly to items kept in an archive. Example: 'The historian found archival letters that shed new light on a historic battle, adding a human layer to the past event.'

historic ↗past ↗ancient ↗archival

Common collocations

Nouns

Adverbs

  • purely historical
  • strictly historical
  • merely historical

Phrases

  • from a historical perspective
  • in historical terms
  • throughout historical times

Etymology

GreekLatinFrenchEnglish

From Latin 'historicus' (relating to history), borrowed through French 'historique' into English in the 15th century. The Latin term itself comes from Greek 'historikos' (ίστορικός), which was built on 'historia' — meaning an inquiry, account, or narrative of past events. The ending '-ical' was added in English by analogy with other adjectives like 'logical' and 'rhetorical.'