Hillary Clinton was the first female nominee from a major party for the office of US president. Now, Kamala Harris—while she is the third woman to run for vice president—is the first woman of color on a major party’s ticket.
These strong women are setting important examples for the next generation of children, but have their candidacies been historic or historical? Or are these incredibly similar words simply synonyms that can be interchanged? Let’s take a closer look.
What does historic mean?
Historic is an adjective that means “well-known or important in history.” For example: the Declaration of Independence is a historic document crucial to the United States’s history. Or: that building around the corner is a historic landmark and deserves to be renovated.
Historic was first recorded around 1605–15. It originates from the Greek historikós (“historical, scientific”) via the Latin historicus. Synonyms for historic include notable, renowned, famous, famed, and memorable.
What does historical mean?
Historical is an adjective that can be defined as “of, pertaining to, treating, or characteristic of history or past events.” For example: when he was going through the garage, he found some historical documents from World War II in what he thought were just boxes of junk.
Historical can also refer to something that is “based on or reconstructed from an event, custom, or style from history.” For example: the theater company invested a huge amount of time and money to ensure the historical costumes were as authentic as possible.
Lastly, historical can mean something that existed (“opposed to being part of legend or fiction or as distinguished from religious belief”). It can also mean “several” pertaining to analysis based on a comparison among several periods of development … as in language or economics.”
