Historic or Historical?

What is the difference between something historic and something historical? Claire Cook explains conventional usage thus: “A historic event is a memorable one, worthy of a place in history. A historical event is simply one that took place in the past” (180). If you’re writing about something that just happened and want to acclaim it as momentous, you might call it historic, but to call it historical would relegate it to times past without assigning it any particular distinction. The terms aren’t mutually exclusive—a historic event may also be historical—but of the two, only historic indicates special importance.   

Cook takes this opportunity to discuss two types of “ic/ical pairs” (181): words that have the same meaning, such as metaphoric and metaphorical, and words that do not, such as comic and comical (“Metaphor”; “Comic”; “Comical”). Some words only have one adjective form; for example, meteoric is a word in the lexicon, but meteorical is not. There is not a formula for assigning meanings to the words in these pairs, so it is wise to consult a dictionary when choosing the right word for your sentence. 

Learn more about the use of historic and historical in this Style Center post.

Works Cited

“Comic, Adj.” Merriam-Webster, 2025, unabridged.merriam-webster.com/collegiate/comic.

“Comical, Adj.” Merriam-Webster, 2025, unabridged.merriam-webster.com/collegiate/comical.

Cook, Claire Kehrwald. Line by Line: How to Edit Your Own Writing. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 1985. 

“Metaphor, N.” Merriam-Webster, 2025, unabridged.merriam-webster.com/collegiate/metaphor.

“Meteoric, Adj.” Merriam-Webster, 2025, unabridged.merriam-webster.com/collegiate/meteoric.