historian

historian — noun

1. A person whose job or interest is to study the past, especially by examining doc

1.nounB1
Definition

A person whose job or interest is to study the past, especially by examining documents, objects, and other evidence, and to write about what happened and why.

Example

Tamar was a historian at the museum, studying old letters and maps from the 1800s.

collocation: worked as a historian

The book was praised by historians for its careful use of original source material.

passive: praised by historians

Common collocations
  • military historian
  • art historian
  • ancient historian
  • historian of science
  • professional historian
Synonyms
  • chronicler

    more specific — someone who records events as they happen, often without deep analysis or interpretation

Common Mistakes

He is a famous history.
He is a famous historian.
'history' is the subject itself; 'historian' is the person who studies or writes about it.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

A historian studies and writes about history, using analysis and interpretation of evidence to explain why events happened. A chronicler records events as they occur, often in a straightforward timeline without much analysis. An archivist preserves and organises historical documents and records but may not write about them. An antiquarian collects and studies old objects, focusing on rare or curious items rather than the broader story of the past. For example, a historian might write a book about the causes of a war, a chronicler would list battles in order, and an archivist would keep the soldiers' letters safe in a library.

chroniclerarchivistantiquarian

Common collocations

Prepositions

  • historian of

Etymology

LatinFrenchEnglish

From Latin 'historia' meaning 'story or account of past events', through French 'historien'. The '-ian' ending means 'one who does or is skilled in', so a historian is literally 'one who is skilled in history'.