{ } a. [ L. historicus, Gr. "istoriko`s: cf. F. historique. See History.] Of or pertaining to history, or the record of past events; as, an historical poem; the historic page. -- His*tor"ic*al*ness, n. -- His*to*ric"i*ty n. [1913 Webster] There warriors frowning in historic brass. Pope. [1913 Webster] 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. [WordNet 1.5] 3. Belonging to the past; as, historical (or historic) times; a historical character. [WordNet 1.5] 4. Within the period of time recorded in written documents; as, within historic times. Opposite of prehistoric.
Syn. -- diachronic. [WordNet 1.5] 5. (Linguistics) Same as diachronic. synchronic [WordNet 1.5]
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. [1913 Webster]
Variants: historic | 
