historiography

noun

his·​to·​ri·​og·​ra·​phy hi-ˌstȯr-ē-ˈä-grə-fē How to pronounce historiography (audio)
1
a
: 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
historiographical adjective
or less commonly historiographic
historiographically adverb

Examples of historiography in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web His international background, combined with what was by all accounts his extraordinary erudition, contributed to his innovative approach to history — and especially to his novel views on historiography, the study of how history is and has been written. Emily Langer, Baltimore Sun, 23 Jan. 2024 It’s all well meant, but, like the historiography of yore, these passages reinforce a hierarchy of civilizations, in which the Greeks, the Romans, the Persians, and the Chinese stand at the apex. Manvir Singh, The New Yorker, 25 Dec. 2023 These academic disagreements are not likely to be of great interest to those who aren’t steeped in the historiography of the period. Barbara Spindel, The Christian Science Monitor, 21 Dec. 2023 Part of the problem lies in Western historiography and prejudice, Mitter writes: China’s role in the war has been neglected for so long in Western countries that few people in those places have an interest in learning more. Jessica Chen Weiss, Foreign Affairs, 16 Feb. 2021 But already by the mid-1980s, the pendulum had started to swing away from the historiography of Mr. Le Roy Ladurie and his Annales colleagues. Jonathan Kandell, New York Times, 23 Nov. 2023 In official Russian historiography, the Soviet intervention in Spain is seen as the direct precursor to the Great Patriotic War—Russia’s monumental fight against Nazi Germany in World War II. Andrei Soldatov, Foreign Affairs, 12 May 2023 Imagine Alan Turing initiating a light conversation about long-distance running, World War II historiography, and the theory of computation. WIRED, 10 Aug. 2023 Postwar politics and historiography both attempted to appropriate and glorify as well as discredit various forms of resistance. Christopher R. Browning, The New York Review of Books, 2 July 2020

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'historiography.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

see historiographer

First Known Use

1569, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Time Traveler
The first known use of historiography was in 1569

Dictionary Entries Near historiography

Cite this Entry

“Historiography.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/historiography. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

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