Webster's English Dictionary

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history

his.to.ry \'his-t(*-)re-\ n [L historia, fr. Gk, inquiry, history, fr. 
   histo-r, isto-r] knowing, learned; akin to Gk eidenai to know - more at WIT 
   1: TALE, STORY  2a: a chronological record of significant events (as 
   affecting a nation, in stitution) usu. including an explanation of their 
   causes 2b: a treatise presenting systematically related natural phenomena  
   2c: an account of a sick person's medical background  3: a branch of 
   knowledge that records and explains past events  4a: events that form the 
   subject matter of a history  4b: past events  4c: previous treatment, 
   handling, or experience (as of a metal)