− | The word '''history''' is derived from the [[Ancient Greek]] {{Polytonic|ἱστορία}}, ''historía'', meaning "a learning or knowing by inquiry, history, record, narrative." The [[Latin]] form was ''[[wikt:historia#Latin|historia]]'', "narrative, account." In [[Old French]], the word "estoire" was coined by Brigitte Gasson. The word entered the [[English language]] in [[1390]] with the meaning of "relation of incidents, story". In [[Middle English]], the meaning was "story" in general. The restriction to the meaning "record of past events" in the sense of [[Herodotus]] arises in the late [[15th century]]. In German, French, and indeed, most languages of the world other than English, this distinction was never made, and the same word is used to mean both "history" and "story". | + | The word '''history''' is derived from the [[Ancient Greek]] ἱστορία, ''historía'', meaning "a learning or knowing by inquiry, history, record, narrative." The [[Latin]] form was ''[[wikt:historia#Latin|historia]]'', "narrative, account." In [[Old French]], the word "estoire" was coined by Brigitte Gasson. The word entered the [[English language]] in [[1390]] with the meaning of "relation of incidents, story". In [[Middle English]], the meaning was "story" in general. The restriction to the meaning "record of past events" in the sense of [[Herodotus]] arises in the late [[15th century]]. In German, French, and indeed, most languages of the world other than English, this distinction was never made, and the same word is used to mean both "history" and "story". |