Origin and history of history

history(n.)

late 14c., historie, "relation of incidents" (true or false), from Old French estoire, estorie "story; chronicle, history" (12c., Modern French histoire), from Latin historia "narrative of past events, account, tale, story," from Greek historia "a learning or knowing by inquiry; an account of one's inquiries; knowledge, account, historical account, record, narrative."

This, along with verb historein "be witness or expert; give testimony, recount; find out, search, inquire," are derivatives of histōr "knowing, expert; witness" (as in hyperhistor "knowing all too well"), reconstructed to be from PIE *wid-tor-, from root *weid- "to see," hence "to know" [Watkins].

The word itself, but especially the derivations [historein, historia] that arose in Ionic, have spread over the Hellenic and Hellenistic world together with Ionic science and philosophy. [Beekes]

Thus it is related etymologically to Greek idein "to see," eidenai "to know," and to idea and vision.

In Middle English it was not differentiated from story (n.1). The general sense of "narrative record of past events" in English probably is attested late 15c. The meaning "recorded events of the past" also is from late 15c., as is use of the word in reference to a branch of knowledge. The meaning "a historical play or drama" is from 1590s.

The sense of "systematic account (without reference to time) of a set of natural phenomena" (1560s) is now obsolete except in natural history (as late as the 1880s county histories in the U.S. included lists of birds and fishes and illustrations of local slugs and freshwater clams).

The meaning "an eventful career, a past worthy of note" (a woman with a history) is from 1852. To make history "be notably engaged in public events" is from 1862.

History is the interpretation of the significance that the past has for us. [Johan Huizinga, "The Task of the Cultural Historian"]

History is more or less bunk [Henry Ford, Chicago Tribune, May 25, 1916]

One difference between history and imaginative literature ... is that history neither anticipates nor satisfies our curiosity, whereas literature does. [Guy Davenport, "Wheel Ruts," 1996]

also from late 14c.

Entries linking to history

idea(n.)

late 14c., "archetype, concept of a thing in the mind of God," from Latin idea "Platonic idea, archetype," a word in philosophy, the word (Cicero writes it in Greek) and the idea taken from Greek idea "form; the look of a thing; a kind, sort, nature; mode, fashion," in logic, "a class, kind, sort, species," from idein "to see," from PIE *wid-es-ya-, suffixed form of root *weid- "to see."

In Platonic philosophy, "an archetype, or pure immaterial pattern, of which the individual objects in any one natural class are but the imperfect copies, and by participation in which they have their being" [Century Dictionary].

Meaning "mental image or picture" is from 1610s (the Greek word for it was ennoia, originally "act of thinking"), as is the sense "concept of something to be done; concept of what ought to be, differing from what is observed." Sense of "result of thinking" first recorded 1640s.

Idée fixe (1836) is from French, literally "fixed idea." Through Latin the word passed into Dutch, German, Danish as idee, which also is found in English dialects. The philosophical sense has been somewhat further elaborated since 17c. by Descartes, Locke, Berkeley, Hume, Kant. Colloquial big idea (as in what's the ...) is from 1908.

story(n.1)

"connected account or narration, oral or written," c. 1200, originally "narrative of important events or celebrated persons of the past, true or presumed to be; history," from Anglo-French storie, estorie, Old French estoire "story, chronicle, history," and directly from Late Latin storia, shortened from Latin historia "history, account, tale, story" (see history).

A story is by derivation a short history, and by development a narrative designed to interest and please. [Century Dictionary]

The non-historical sense of "account of some happening or events alleged to have happened" is by late 14c., but the word was not differentiated from history until 1500s and was used at first also in most of the senses of history. In Middle English a storier was a historian (early 14c. as a surname), storial (adj.) was "historically true, dealing with history," and a book of story was a history book. For the sense evolution compare Gaelic seanachas "history, antiquity," also "story, tale, narration," from sean "old, ancient" + cuis "a matter, affair, circumstance."

The literary sense of "tale in more or less imaginative style, narrative of fictitious events meant to entertain" is from c. 1500. The sense of "plot or intrigue of a novel or drama" is by 1715; story-line "plot-line of a novel or drama" is attested by 1941.

The meaning "humorous anecdote, incident related for interest or entertainment" is by early 15c. As "facts or events of a given case considered in sequence," c. 1600. The meaning "report or descriptive article in a newspaper" is by 1892. As a euphemism for "a lie, a falsehood" it dates from 1690s.

Whole story "full account of the matter" is from 1660s. Another story "different matter requiring different treatment" is attested by 1818. Story of my life "sad truth" first recorded 1938, from a typical title of an autobiography. In late 14c. naked story was "unvarnished account."