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artificium

Etymology and origin of the Latin word artificium

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Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
Rhetorica ad Herennium
Ultimate origin
Latin (ars,faciō)

Forms

artificium n (genitive artificiī or artificī); second declension[1]

Etymology

It is from artifex “craftsman”, from ars “art” and faciō “to make”, with the suffix -ium.[2][1][3][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

The OLD's earliest citations are from the Rhetorica ad Herennium, of skill and of a cunning device.[2] Köbler dates it 86/82 BC.[3]

Semantic evolution

It meant skill shown in an art, craftsmanship, talent, as in Caesar, and in Cicero an art, craft, trade, as the painters' art and the necessary crafts.[2][5] In Cicero it also meant the rules or theory of an art, and a work of art.[2] From the Rhetorica ad Herennium it meant craftiness, a trick, stratagem, and in Pliny the Elder a device.[2]

In Ecclesiastical Latin it meant craft, skill, handicraft.[6] Medieval Latin used it for a machine, a war machine and a craft guild.[7] It survives in Italian artificio and French artifice, which gave English artifice in the 1530s, and artificiālis gave English artificial in the late 14th century.[1][4]

Timeline

  • 86/82 BC – The Rhetorica ad Herennium uses it of skill and of a trick.[2][3]
  • 81–43 BC – Cicero uses it of crafts.[5][3]
  • c. 50 BC – Caesar uses it of skill.[2][3]
  • 1530s – English artifice is recorded.[4]

Meanings

Noun

  1. Skill, craftsmanship.[2]
  2. An art, craft, trade.[2]
  3. The theory of an art.[2]
  4. Cunning; a trick, stratagem; a device.[2]
  5. A work of art.[2]
  6. (Medieval Latin) A machine; a craft guild.[7]

Word family

  • artificiālis
  • artificiōsus

References

  1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c d e Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  4. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  5. ^ a b Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
  6. ^ Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
  7. ^ a b Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
Cite this entry

“Artificium.” Etymologically, 16 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/artificium. Accessed 16 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·