/ ˈhɪstri; NAmE / noun ( pl. -ies )
1.
[ U ] all the events that happened in the past :
a turning point in human history
one of the worst disasters in recent history
a people with no sense of history
Many people throughout history have dreamt of a world without war.
The area was inhabited long before the dawn of recorded history (= before people wrote about events) .
These events changed the course of history .
2.
[ sing. , U ] the past events concerned in the development of a particular place, subject, etc. :
the history of Ireland / democracy / popular music
The local history of the area is fascinating.
The school traces its history back to 1865.
3.
[ U ] the study of past events as a subject at school or university :
a history teacher
a degree in History
social / economic / political history
ancient / medieval / modern history
She's studying art history .
—see also natural history
4.
[ C ] a written or spoken account of past events :
She's writing a new history of Europe.
She went on to catalogue a long history of disasters.
5.
[ sing. ] history (of sth) a record of sth happening frequently in the past life of a person, family or place; the set of facts that are known about sb's past life :
He has a history of violent crime.
There is a history of heart disease in my family.
a patient's medical history
—see also case history , life history
•
IDIOMS
- be history
- the history books
- history repeats itself
- make history | go down in history
—more at rest noun
••
WORD ORIGIN
late Middle English (also as a verb): via Latin from Greek historia finding out, narrative, history, from histōr learned, wise man, from an Indo-European root shared by wit have knowledge .