Answer to Question #235536 in History for doyon

Question

How did the word “history” come about? Discuss its etymology and evolution.

Answer 1

The term history has evolved from an ancient Greek verb that means “to know,” says the Oxford English Dictionary's Philip Durkin. The Greek word historia originally meant inquiry, the act of seeking knowledge, as well as the knowledge that results from inquiry.

Evolution simply means change over time, changing species, changing populations, change in the characteristics of individuals in a species.

The word history comes from the Ancient Greek ἱστορία (historía), meaning "inquiry", "knowledge from inquiry", or "judge". It was in that sense that Aristotle used the word in his History of Animals.