his·to·ri·og·ra·phy
| \ hi-ˌstȯr-ē-ˈä-grə-fē
\
\
Definition of historiography
1a
: the writing of history
especially
: the writing of history based on the critical examination of sources, the selection of particulars from the authentic materials, and the synthesis of particulars into a narrative that will stand the test of critical methods
b
: the principles, theory, and history of historical writing
a course in historiography
2
: the product of historical writing : a body of historical literature
a survey of the country's historiography
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Other Words from historiography
historiographical
\
hi-ˌstȯr-ē-ə-ˈgra-fi-kəl
\
or less commonly historiographic \
hi-ˌstȯr-ē-ə-ˈgra-fik
\ adjective
\
or less commonly historiographic \
hi-ˌstȯr-ē-ə-ˈgra-fik
\ adjective
historiographically
\
hi-ˌstȯr-ē-ə-ˈgra-fi-k(ə-)lē
\
adverb
\
adverb
Examples of historiography in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
John Burrow’s book, which stands as one of the most erudite, authoritative, comprehensive and delightful works on historiography ever written, is one of those.
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James M. Banner Jr., WSJ, 2 Apr. 2021
Soon, a tower-like bonfire engulfed more than 20,000 books, some of them rare copies that helped to provide a historiography for nonconforming peoples; they could never be replaced.
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Brandy Schillace, Scientific American, 10 May 2021
Yet, even as French historiography has obscured the Haitian Revolution, its consequences endure today.
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Lauren Collins, The New Yorker, 3 Dec. 2020
In his years at school, Mr. Calhoun had written a master’s thesis on the historiography of Napoleon’s peninsular war and had attended a law seminar in Belgium.
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New York Times, 18 Feb. 2021
The results are probing, but covering so much ground in one slim volume probably makes the text somewhat inaccessible for a general audience, especially for those unfamiliar with Chinese politics and Communist Party historiography.
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Howard W. French, WSJ, 13 Oct. 2020
Gorra has drawn on Faulkner’s life and family story; his various works; letters, journals, histories, and fiction of the period; and the historiography of the Civil War and its aftermath.
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Michael Gorra, Star Tribune, 28 Aug. 2020
The interiority of history, the way it is driven by human beliefs, hopes, affections, and hatreds, has often been obscured in English-language historiography because our great thinkers, left and right, have mostly been materialists.
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Cameron Hilditch, National Review, 25 Aug. 2020
For example, recent Spanish historiography is less coruscating in its judgment of the restoration political system.
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The Economist, 20 June 2020
See MoreThese example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'historiography.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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Cite this Entry
“Historiography.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/historiography. Accessed 21 Aug. 2021.
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The first known use of historiography was in 1569
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