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artificialis

Etymology and origin of the Latin word artificialis

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Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
Quintilian
Ultimate origin
Latin (ars,faciō)

Pronunciation

  • IPA (Classical): [ar.tɪ.fɪ.kiˈaː.lɪs][1]
  • IPA (Ecclesiastical): [ar.ti.fi.t͡ʃiˈaː.lis][1]

Forms

artificiālis (neuter artificiāle); third-declension two-termination adjective[1]

Etymology

It is from artificium “art, skill” with the suffix -ālis, from artifex “craftsman”, from ars and faciō.[2][1][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Köbler's first source is Quintilian, whom he dates c. 35–95/96 AD, and Lewis & Short note it is perhaps found only in him.[4][5]

Semantic evolution

It meant contrived by art, according to the rules of art; in Quintilian's rhetoric probātiōnēs artificiālēs, translating Greek entechnos, are proofs devised by the speaker, and the neuter plural meant technicalities.[2][6]

British Medieval Latin used it for artificial, produced by human skill, for skilled, artistic, and in medicine for prescribed.[7] Through Old French artificial it gave English artificial in the late 14th century, “not natural or spontaneous”.[3]

Timeline

  • c. 35–95/96 AD – Quintilian uses it.[4][2]
  • late 14th century – English artificial is recorded.[3]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. Made by art, according to the rules of art.[2]
  2. (rhetoric) Devised by the speaker.[2]
  3. (Medieval Latin) Artificial; skilled.[7]

Word family

  • inartificiālis

References

  1. ^ a b c d 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 c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ a b Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  5. ^ Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  6. ^ Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
  7. ^ a b Latham, R. E., D. R. Howlett, R. K. Ashdowne, et al. (1975–2013), Dictionary of Medieval Latin from British Sources, London: British Academy / Oxford University Press
Cite this entry

“Artificialis.” Etymologically, 16 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/artificialis. Accessed 17 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·