Practice
Historic or historical: what is the difference?
Sign in to saveIs an old photograph historic or historical? Its age alone does not decide. Ask whether the sentence points to importance or simply to the past.
Choose historic for a person, event, or place considered important in history, and historical for something connected with the past or the study of history.
Read and practice
Read the examples and try the written questions in this guide. Listening recordings are not available for this lesson yet.
Try the written questions
historic / historical /hɪˈstɒrɪk/ /hɪˈstɒrɪkəl/
The short answer
Use historic for something important in history or likely to become important. Use historical for something connected with the past or with history as a subject.
The council's decision was a historic moment for the town.
Why it works: Historic says that the decision mattered in the town's history, rather than simply placing it in the past.
5 more examples
-
The vote was a historic moment for the town.
The vote is presented as a decision that will matter in the town's history.
Not this:The vote was a
historical momentfor the town. What changes: This is possible in a context about the past, but it does not clearly say that the vote was important. Historic is the usual choice when significance is the point. -
The museum keeps historical records from the nineteenth century.
The records are material about the past. The sentence does not claim that each record changed history.
Not this:The museum keeps
historic recordsfrom the nineteenth century. What changes: Use historic only if the records themselves are notably important, for example because they document a major event. -
The guide explained the historic bridge's role in the city's development.
Historic presents the bridge as a place with particular importance in the city's past.
Not this:The guide explained the
historical bridge's role in the city's development. What changes: Historical can describe a bridge connected with the past, but it puts less emphasis on the bridge's importance. -
The novelist checked historical details before writing the scene.
The details help make the scene accurate for its period in the past.
Not this:The novelist checked
historic detailsbefore writing the scene. What changes: This sounds unusual because details are normally described by their connection with a period, not by their importance in history. -
The agreement could be a historic step toward peace.
Could be historic means that the agreement may become important in history.
Not this:The agreement could be a
historical steptoward peace. What changes: Historical does not normally express a prediction of importance. Historic is natural for an event that may be remembered.
Read the full guide
A library may hold historical records, but one record can become historic if it changes what people know about the past. Start by asking what the adjective adds: significance, or a connection with history.
Separate importance from age
The basic difference is not old versus new. Historic means important in history. Historical means connected with the past or with history. A new decision can be historic before anyone knows its long-term effect, while an old receipt can be historical without being historic.
The first election after the reforms was a historic event.
The election may be recent, but historic says that it has special importance in the country's story.
Use historic for significance
Choose historic when the noun names something that changed a situation, marked an achievement, or is expected to be remembered. This use is common with event, decision, agreement, victory, speech, and moment. It can also describe a place that has an important role in the past.
Scientists called the first successful test a historic achievement.
The adjective judges the achievement as important, rather than simply placing the test in an earlier period.
A newspaper says that a peace agreement may change relations between two countries. Which adjective fits: historic or historical?
Use historic. The agreement is presented as likely to matter in history.
Use historical for a connection with the past
Choose historical when you are naming a field, source, setting, or detail related to an earlier period. Historical research studies the past. Historical data records it. Historical fiction uses a past setting. These things may be useful or interesting without being important events themselves.
The team compared historical data before making its forecast.
The data comes from earlier periods. The sentence does not say that the data itself is famous or decisive.
Which adjective normally comes before research about life in ancient Rome?
Use historical research. It means research concerned with the past.
Read old places carefully
With buildings, streets, and objects, both words can sometimes appear. A historical house may simply be old or associated with an earlier period. A historic house is described as important because of what happened there, who lived there, or its role in a community's past. Context tells you how strong the claim is.
Visitors toured the historic house where the treaty was signed.
The treaty gives the house a specific reason to be called historic.
A brochure describes maps from the past without saying that any map is especially famous. Which adjective is safer?
Use historical maps. The phrase identifies maps connected with the past without adding a claim of special importance.
Notice the common word partners
Some nouns point strongly toward one adjective. Historic often appears with moment, decision, breakthrough, win, and occasion. Historical often appears with evidence, context, account, novel, document, and analysis. These patterns are useful, but meaning still comes first. A document can be historic if it has exceptional importance.
The article gives historical context for the debate.
Context explains a past background, so historical is the usual adjective.
Which phrase is usual for background information about an earlier event: historic context or historical context?
Use historical context. It means context related to the past.
Choose the message you need
Before choosing, ask one question: am I saying that this mattered in history, or that it concerns the past? Choose historic for the first message and historical for the second. If both ideas are true, select the adjective that fits the point of the sentence instead of treating the words as exact synonyms.
The archive preserves historical letters, including one historic letter that changed the negotiations.
All the letters relate to the past, but one letter is singled out for its importance.
You are describing a recent court ruling that may influence future cases. Which adjective best expresses that possible importance?
Use historic. The ruling may become important in legal history.
Before you go
Remember this
Use historic when historical importance is the message: a historic vote, a historic agreement, or a historic bridge. Use historical when you mean related to the past: historical records, historical research, or historical details. Age by itself is not enough to make something historic.
Practice with the written examples
You can practice with the written questions in the Learn tab. Each answer includes an explanation.
Try the written questionsListening test not available yet
This lesson does not have the recordings needed for a listening test. Use the written questions in the guide to check your understanding.
Try the written questionsQuestions about "Historic or historical: what is the difference?"
What is the main difference between historic and historical?
Historic means important in history, or likely to become important. Historical means connected with the past, with history, or with the study of history. The first word adds significance; the second usually describes a connection.
The vote was a historic moment for the town.
Can a recent event be historic?
Yes. Historic can describe a recent event when people believe it has special importance or may be remembered for a long time. A peace agreement, election result, or scientific achievement can be historic on the day it happens.
The vote was a historical moment for the town.
Does historical just mean old?
Not exactly. Historical means related to the past or to history, so it often describes old material such as records, maps, or data. The word does not by itself say that the thing is famous, rare, or especially important.
The museum keeps historical records from the nineteenth century.
Should I say a historic building or a historical building?
Both can appear, but they suggest different emphasis. A historic building is important because of its place in history. A historical building is connected with an earlier period. Use the surrounding context to decide whether importance or age is the point.
The museum keeps historic records from the nineteenth century.
Why is historical context more common than historic context?
Historical context means the past background needed to understand a subject. Context itself is not usually presented as an important event, so historical is the natural adjective. Historic context is possible only when the context is being described as historically important.
The guide explained the historic bridge's role in the city's development.