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articulo

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Etymology and origin of the Latin word articulo

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
96–55 BC Lucretius More words from the 1st century BC
Ultimate origin
Latin articulus
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Latin artus
Latin articulus
Spanish artejo
French article
German Artikel
Italian articolo
Spanish artículo
Latin articulō
Derivations
From the same root
Latin artē ← artus
Latin artō ← artus
Latin articulātus ← articulus

Pronunciation

  • Classical: [arˈtɪ.kʊ.ɫoː][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [arˈtiː.ku.lo][1]

Forms

articulō (present infinitive articulāre, perfect active articulāvī, supine articulātum); first conjugation[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin articulus (“joint, member”), with the verbal suffix ⟨-ō⟩.[2][3][4] Its past participle articulātus is the source of English articulate.[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

Lucretius is the first to use it,[4] of the nimble tongue that shapes sounds into distinct words (verborum daedala lingua).[3][6]

Semantic evolution

The TLL notes that after Lucretius it is found again only from the 2nd century AD.[4] Its literal sense, to divide into members or joints, is the base of the figurative one;[3] in practice it was used of speech, to pronounce distinctly,[3][7] and grammarians and Church writers applied it to words.[7] Late writers also used it of the body: to furnish with joints, to fit together, to distinguish.[4]

Timeline

  • 96–55 BC – Lucretius uses it of the tongue articulating sounds.[4][3][8]
  • c. 125–175 AD – Apuleius uses it of distinct speech.[6][8]
  • 1590s – English borrows articulate in the sense of dividing speech into distinct parts.[5]

Meanings

Verb

  1. To divide into distinct parts or joints.[2][3]
  2. To articulate, to utter distinctly.[3][7][6]
  3. (Late Latin) To furnish with joints, to fit together.[4]

Word family

References

  1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c d e f g Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  4. ^ a b c d e f Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
  5. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  6. ^ a b c Conte, Gian Biagio; Pianezzola, Emilio; Ranucci, Giuliano (2010), il Latino: Vocabolario della lingua latina, 3rd ed., Florence: Le Monnier
  7. ^ a b c Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
  8. ^ a b Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
Cite this entry

“Articulo.” Etymologically, 8 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/la/articulo. Accessed 8 Nov. 2026.

Last edited on . ·