Writing Tip 44: Historic vs. Historical
Perhaps you read “historical romance.” This would indeed be different if it was “historic romance”–more Napoleon and Josephine Bonaparte and less unlaced corsets, cravats, and smelling salts. Though perhaps I need a better example, the French being the French and all.
While “pre-historic” might cause some confusion to this lesson, remember that:
- “historic” is an adjective denoting an important event in history;
- “historical” means something simply having taken place in the more distant past.
The invention of the internet was historic; the cloning of Dolly the sheep was historic; the founding of this writing tips blog was historic (no?). But none of these examples are historical. See the difference? Edit yourselves carefully.