Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary - history

 noun  (plural -ries)  Etymology: Middle English histoire, historie, from Anglo-French estoire, histoire, from Latin historia, from Greek, inquiry, ~, from histor, istor knowing, learned; akin to Greek eidenai to know — more at wit  Date: 14th century  1. tale, story  2.  a. a chronological record of significant events (as affecting a nation or institution) often including an explanation of their causes  b. a treatise presenting systematically related natural phenomena  c. an account of a patient's medical background  d. an established record a prisoner with a ~ of violence  3. a branch of knowledge that records and explains past events medieval ~  4.  a. events that form the subject matter of a ~  b. events of the past  c. one that is finished or done for the winning streak was ~ you're ~  d. previous treatment, handling, or experience (as of a metal)