course of history
- noun
- Few men have ever had such an impact on the course of history as Alexander the Great.
- changed the course of history
You know, I mean, if you think about mankind over the course of history, it's all war.
- You know, I mean, if you think about mankind over the course of history, it's all war.
- Well, there's always been, throughout the course of history, groups of people that oppose progress.
- But over the course of history, that painting has mesmerized art critics more and more.
- And you will see they have step by step, began to change the course of history in Cambodia.
- And he's also been a husband to empresses in the course of history.
Examples
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Whether or not great leaders shape the course of history and actualize the spirit of an age is a philosophical riddle.
Academic text (1996) -
A woman who changed the course of history by standing up for what was fair and just.
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Few men have ever had such an impact on the course of history as Alexander the Great.
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Then several events occurred that changed the course of history.
Fiction book (1995) -
The prosperity brought about by the miracle formula changed the course of history for Israel.
Fiction book (1995) -
It altered the course of history.
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They moved in the shadows... Toppled governments... And changed the course of history.
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What if you had the power to change the course of history?
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In this country, the death of a 92-year-old woman who changed the course of history is significant.
How Significant
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'the development and progression of events' is directly and compositionally derived from 'course' (a connected sequence or progression) + 'of' + 'history' (past events). The 'course of X' construction is a productive, transparent possessive/relational pattern found across languages, so a B1 learner who knows the constituents can infer the MWE meaning.
Etymology
Course of history uses the image of a river or path to show how events move over time. The word course means a path or flow and history is the story of past events, so imagining events turning or changing direction helps explain why the phrase means the long 'development' or path of important events.