Meanings
- pluralplural of annal
- pluralplural onlyA relation of events in chronological order, each event being recorded under the year in which it happened.
the annals of our religion
a. 1729, John Rogers, A Sufficiency with Regard to Mens Stations in Life adjusted and recommended1 more example
So ended this great siege, the most memorable in the annals of the British isles. It had lasted a hundred and five days
1849–1861, Thomas Babington Macaulay, The History of England from the Accession of James the Second, volume (please specify |volume=I to V), London: Longman, Brown, Green, and Longmans, →OCLC - pluralplural onlyHistorical records; chronicles; history.
the short and simple annals of the poor
1750 June 12 (date written; published 1751), T[homas] Gray, “Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard”, in Designs by Mr. R[ichard] Bentley, for Six Poems by Mr. T. Gray, London: […] R[obert] Dodsley, […], published 1753, →OCLC1 more example
It was one of the most critical periods in our annals.
1780, Edmund Burke, Speech at the Guildhall, in Bristol - pluralplural onlyA periodic publication, containing records of discoveries, transactions of societies, etc.
Annals of Science
Synonyms & antonyms
nouna chronological account of events in successive years
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Latinannālēs librī“chronicles”
- Middle Frenchannales
- Englishannals
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.
More words from Middle French, Latin
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Arabic حَوْلِيَّات
- حَوْلِيَّات (ḥawliyyāt)a relation of events
Chinese Mandarin 史冊 /史册, 編年史 /编年史
- 史冊 /史册 (shǐcè)a relation of events
- 編年史 /编年史 (biānniánshǐ)a relation of events
- 史書 /史书 (shǐshū)historical records; chronicles
Dutch annalen, annalen
- annalena relation of events
- annalenhistorical records; chronicles
- jaarboekenhistorical records; chronicles
Finnish annaali, vuosikirja
- annaalia relation of events
- vuosikirjaa relation of events
- annaalihistorical records; chronicles
- historiankirjathistorical records; chronicles
French annales, annales
- annalesa relation of events
- annaleshistorical records; chronicles
German Annalen, Annalen
- Annalena relation of events
- Annalenhistorical records; chronicles
Latin annālēs
- annālēsa relation of events
Polish annały
- annałyhistorical records; chronicles
Portuguese anais, anais
- anaisa relation of events
- anaishistorical records; chronicles
Romanian anale, anale
- analea relation of events
- analehistorical records; chronicles
Russian анна́лы, ле́топись
- анна́лы (annály)a relation of events
- ле́топись (létopisʹ)a relation of events
- анна́лы (annály)historical records; chronicles
- ле́топись (létopisʹ)historical records; chronicles
- хро́ника (xrónika)historical records; chronicles
Spanish anales, añales (disused)
- analesa relation of events
- añales (disused)a relation of events
- fastosa relation of events
- analeshistorical records; chronicles
- crónicahistorical records; chronicles
- añales (disused)historical records; chronicles
- fastoshistorical records; chronicles
Ukrainian анна́ли, літо́пис
- анна́ли (annály)a relation of events
- літо́пис (litópys)a relation of events
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with annals
All rhymes →Cite this entry
annals. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/annals
“annals.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/annals. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “annals,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/annals.
Source: annals on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.