Historic vs. Historical
I ran across this tidbit at a party (yes, we editors do go to parties). A book editor friend of mine was excited to tell me about her latest discovery.
From Merriam-Webster:
"Historical: adj. 1 a : of, relating to, or having the character of history historical data> b : based on history historical novels> c : used in the past and reproduced in historical presentations.
Historic: adj. a : famous or important in history historic battlefields> b : having great and lasting importance historic occasion>."
That is all to say, that anything in the past is historical, but only important or famous historical events are historic.
For example:
The assassination of Abraham Lincoln was an historic event.
The Historical Society of Seattle preserves information about the history of Seattle (historic or not) in its archives.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
6 comments:
Hi.. read some of your blogs so I thought I would introduce myself!
My name is Ian and I'm an aspiring writer. At the moment I'm writing a collection of short stories.
If you want to check out my blog, go to: http://www.boredom-den.blogspot.com
regards
ian
if you want to link each others site lemme know!
ian
iancanning@live.co.uk
Hi Ian,
It's nice to "meet" you. :-)
"The assignation of Abraham Lincoln was an historic event."
Oh, that assignation typo cracked me up Nicole!
I am surprised that your friend didn't know the difference. But with a bazillion words in English, I can see how subtleties in word meaning can sometimes be lost.
Ian's looking to up his blog visits, I think.
Written:
Ha! I love that typo, too. I'm a nerd *blush*
*beeeeep* Time for another logic post. LOL! Just kidding. But you have been too busy in the real world to blog lately.
Post a Comment