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Chronological vs Historical - What's the difference?

chronological | historical |

As adjectives the difference between chronological and historical

is that chronological is in order of time from the earliest to the latest while historical is pertaining to the history, to what happened in the past.

As a noun historical is

a historical romance.

chronological

English

Adjective

(en adjective)
  • In order of time from the earliest to the latest
  • * 8 November 2014 , Kirsty Gunn in The Guardian'', '' A Book of Death and Fish by Ian Stephen – review
    • A Book of Death and Fish'' is about one Peter MacAulay, an unremarkable individual who has the sea and its promises alwayus with him, experiencing the usual strains of growing up and growing old – the death of a friend, his parents, marriage and children – all set out in chronological order and divided into two books, Migration and Turbulence.
  • In units of time.
    • He is 67 in chronological age, but has the mind and body of someone 55.

    Usage notes

    * In the "units of time" sense, the term is almost exclusively used to clarify a contrast.

    Related terms

    * chronologically * chronology * chronicle * chronograph

    References

    historical

    English

    Adjective

    (en adjective)
  • Pertaining to the history, to what happened in the past.

    • Usage notes

    * * See the usage notes about (m) for more.

    Synonyms

    * historic

    Derived terms

    * ahistorical * art-historical

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • A historical romance.
  • * 1999 , Anne K. Kaler, Rosemary E. Johnson-Kurek, Romantic Conventions , page 63:
    • However, as regular romance readers know, the romance novels that appear on the best-seller lists are not Harlequins at all, but rather historicals and contemporaries, which vary widely from the Harlequin pattern in style, plot, and character.