artifact
Pronunciation
Etymology
It was first spelled artefact, formed from Latin arte (“by skill”) + factum (“something made”),[2][3][4][5][6] arte being the ablative of ars (“art, skill”) and factum the neuter past participle of faciō (“to make, do”),[2][6][3] from Proto-Indo-European *dʰeh₁- (“to set, put”).[7][2] Dictionary.com treats it as the phrase Latin arte factum (“something made with skill”).[8] Barnhart thinks the English word was probably formed under the influence of Italian artefatto, and Etymonline derives it from the Italian word;[9][7] Hoad compares it.[5] Etymonline notes the word in German from 1791.[7] The spelling artifact is an alteration, probably influenced by the Latin stem arti- according to Barnhart and Etymonline,[9][7] or by artifice according to Merriam-Webster.[6]
Earliest recorded meaning
Anything made by human skill and work; an artificial product: 1821, as artefact, in the writings of Coleridge.[9][7][10] Merriam-Webster dates its first known use to 1644.[6]
Semantic evolution
According to Etymonline the word was at first used in anatomy for artificial conditions caused by an operation and the like, and was applied in archaeology from 1885, after German, where the archaeological use dates from 1875.[7] The OED of 1989 also notes its use in archaeology for the rough products of early workmanship.[10] The spelling artifact appeared in 1884,[9][7] and Merriam-Webster gives artefact as chiefly British.[11] From 1908 the word was used in technical and medical writing for an effect not present in the natural state but caused by the method of investigation,[10][3] and in transferred use from 1934.[10][10]
Timeline
- 1644 – first known use according to Merriam-Webster.[6]
- 1821 – artefact, anything made by human art, in Coleridge.[9][7][10]
- 1884 – the spelling artifact.[9][7]
- 1885 – an object of archaeological interest.[7]
- 1908 – a product or effect of the method of investigation, not present in nature.[10]
- 1934 – in transferred use.[10]
Meanings
Noun
- An object made or shaped by people, especially a tool, weapon or ornament of archaeological or historical interest: The museum displays artifacts from a Bronze Age village.[12][6][13]
- A characteristic product or result of a period, culture or process.[12][11]
- Something seen in a scientific investigation or experiment that is not naturally present but is caused by the procedure itself.[13][3][12]
- (cytology) A structure seen in tissue after death, fixation or staining that is not present in the living tissue.[13][12]
Word family
- artifactual
Related words
- art
- fact
- artifice
- artificial
- manufacture
References
- ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
- ^ a b c The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (online 2024), 5th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
- ^ a b c d Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
- ^ Stevenson, Angus, ed. (2010), Oxford Dictionary of English, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
- ^ a b Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
- ^ a b c d e f Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
- ^ Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
- ^ a b c d e f Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
- ^ a b c d e f g h Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
- ^ a b Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
- ^ a b c d The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
- ^ a b c Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins