Очень часто учащиеся неверно используют похожие английские слова, не понимая разницы их значений. К таким словам относится и пара слов "historic" и "historical"
“Historic”
“Historic” is an adjective that means something important or influential in history. So Denise should say, “The treaty was a historic occasion.” It was an important occasion. It would be incorrect to say, “We sell historic replicas” unless they are replicas that are important to history. You’ve probably heard TV announcers refer to “historic treaties” or perhaps you’ve visited some “historic houses” or “historic battlefields.” All of these were important or famous things in history.
“Historical”
“Historical,” on the other hand, is an adjective that refers to anything from the past, important or not. Denise should say, “We sell historical replicas” because these replicas are from the past; they’re probably not so important. A “historical occasion” would be just some occasion in the past; it wasn’t necessarily an important occasion. “Historical documents” are just documents that record the past. You’ve probably read a “historical novel” or perhaps even a “historical romance,” which are books set in the past. There is nothing especially important about these books; if they were, they’d be “historic books.” The Gutenberg Bible would be a historic book, for example.
Historic: 1. momentous; 2. historically significant.
Historical: 1. of or relating to history; 2. of or relating to the past.
The words were originally synonyms—with historic developing second as a shortened historical—but they began to diverge in meaning around the 18th century, and the difference has solidified over time. They are still occasionally mixed up, but the differentiation is now so well-established that using one in place of the other is likely to strike many English speakers as wrong.
Related
Buildings, villages, districts, and landmarks deemed historically important are often described as historic because they are historically significant in addition to being of or related to history. Societies dedicated to recognizing and preserving these things are called historical societies because they are concerned with history but not momentous in themselves.
Examples
Historic
Early morning parties were held across the city to mark the historic event. [CTV.ca]
That’s in addition to historic droughts and fires in Texas, record low temperatures in Seattle, and snow and flooding in the Midwest. [NPR]
Historical
Historical fiction is currently enjoying a tremendous renaissance, both in terms of literary and commercial recognition. [Guardian]
Optimism that stock prices will rise over the next six months remained below its historical average of 39% for the second consecutive week. [Forbes]
When we cut to the USS Arizona “a few minutes after eight”, the historical footage creates a narrative that is genuinely chilling. [Sydney Morning Herald]