from
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
historic \his*tor"ic\ (h[i^]s*t[o^]r"[i^]k), historical
\his*tor"ic*al\ (h[i^]s*t[o^]r"[i^]*kal), 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]