English Reference
noun

annals

n.
US /ˈænəɫz/ UK /ˈænəlz/ an·nals

  1. 01 C1 Advanced LiteraryFormal

    a way to talk about history or the memory of the past.

    the collective historical record or memory of a field, nation, or species.

    Simple

    His discovery will go down in the annals of science as a major breakthrough.

    In context

    Few figures in the annals of military history have commanded such universal respect from both allies and adversaries.

  2. 02 C2 Proficiency TechnicalFormal Academic

    the name of a regular magazine or book that contains new scientific or historical discoveries.

    the periodic publication of the records or discoveries of a learned society or professional body.

    Simple

    She published her latest research in the Annals of Internal Medicine.

    In context

    The society's annual conference results are traditionally compiled and published in their official annals for international distribution.


Borrowed from Middle French annales, from Latin annālēs librī (“chronicles”), from annālis (“pertaining to a year”), from annus (“year”) + librī, plural of liber (“book”). Compare with annual.

Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

This entry
Origin Latin annālēs librī
Level C1 · Advanced
Frequency Frequent
Updated