articulatio

Forms

articulātiō f (genitive articulātiōnis); third declension^[1]

Etymology

It is formed from Latin articulō + -tiō, a noun of action from the verb meaning “to divide into joints”.^[2][1][3] The verb comes from articulus (“joint, limb”), a diminutive of artus² (“joint”),^[4] which de Vaan traces to Proto-Italic *arto- and Proto-Indo-European *h₂r-tó- (“fitted”).^[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

Pliny the Elder (23/24–79 AD)^[6] is the first to use it, in the language of tree and vine growing: the putting forth of new joints or knots on shoots, and a disease of vines at the joints of the tendrils.^[2][7]

Semantic evolution

In Classical Latin the word stayed a rare technical term of arboriculture.^[7][3] Fulgentius (c. 500 AD) used it for well-ordered delivery in speaking and, in the plural, for the Greek articles.^[8][6]

Medieval Latin gave it the senses of a joint or junction, distinct pronunciation of the voice, an articulated sound, and a distinction or determination.^[9] English took it in the early 15th century, through Old French, for a joint or the setting of bones.^[4]

Timeline

• 23/24–79 AD – Pliny the Elder uses it of the new joints on growing shoots and of a disease of vine joints.^[2][6]
• c. 500 AD – Fulgentius applies it to articulate delivery and to the Greek articles.^[8][6]
• early 15th century – English borrows it, through Old French, as articulation, “a joint”.^[4]

Meanings

Noun

1. A jointed structure; the putting forth of new joints or knots on shoots.^[2][7]
2. A disease of vines affecting the joints of the tendrils.^[2][7]
3. (Late Latin) Clear, well-ordered delivery in speech; in the plural, the Greek articles.^[8][1]
4. (Medieval Latin) A joint or junction.^[9]
5. (Medieval Latin) Distinct pronunciation; an articulated sound.^[9]
6. (Medieval Latin) A distinction or determination.^[9]

Related words

• English articulation

References

1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
4. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
5. ^ de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
6. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
7. ^ a b c d Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
8. ^ a b c Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
9. ^ a b c d Mittellateinisches Wörterbuch bis zum ausgehenden 13. Jahrhundert (1967–), Munich: C. H. Beck; Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften