article English · revision 2583

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=c. 1200 (Ancrene Riwle)|origins=la articulus}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: UK /ˈɑː.tɪ.kəl/, US /ˈɑːr.t̬ɪ.kəl/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|article]], [[bor|fro|article]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(SOED 2002) from [[la|articulus|t=a small part, a joint; the article in grammar]], a diminutive of [[m|la|artus|t=joint]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(AHD 2000) from [[ine-pro|*h₂er-|alt=*ar-|t=to fit together]],^(Etymonline)^(AHD 2000) the root also of [[art]] and [[arm]].^(Hoad 1986)^(Klein 1966) The grammatical sense translates Greek [[m|grc|ἄρθρον|tr=árthron|t=joint]].^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986)^(AHD 2000)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ A separate clause or statement, as in the Apostles' Creed or a set of rules: probably before 1200, in the ''Ancrene Riwle'',^(Barnhart 1988) or about 1230.^(OED 1989) A clause of a statute is from 1315.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ A juncture, a moment, as in ''the article of death'', is from 1398.^(OED 1989) A joint of the body is from 1541 and is now obsolete.^(OED 1989) The grammatical article is from the 1530s, from the notion of the “joints” on which the parts of a sentence are tied together.^(Etymonline) ''Articles of War'', military regulations, are from 1716.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) A non-fiction composition in a journal or newspaper is by 1712.^(Etymonline) A piece of property or commodity, such as an ''article of clothing'', is by 1796, originally in rogues' cant.^(Etymonline) In several English dialects ''article'' was a contemptuous term for a worthless person.^(Wright 1898) The verb meant “to set out in articles” about 1450, and “to bind by articles of apprenticeship” later.^(OED 1989)^(AHD)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1200 – a clause of a creed (''Ancrene Riwle'').^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1315 – a clause of a statute.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1398 – a moment, juncture.^(OED 1989)

+ * c. 1450 – verb, to set out in articles.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1530s – the grammatical article.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1712 – a newspaper article.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1716 – ''Articles of War''.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)

+ * 1796 – a commodity.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A particular item or object: ''an article of clothing''.^(AHD)^(SOED 2002)

+ # A piece of non-fiction writing forming part of a newspaper, magazine or other publication.^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+ # A separate section or clause of a written document, such as a contract, constitution or treaty.^(AHD)^(OED 1989)

+ # ''(grammar)'' A word such as ''the'' or ''a'' used with a noun to limit or define it.^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ===Verb===

+ # To bind by articles of a contract, as of apprenticeship.^(AHD)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[subarticle]]

+ * [[definite article]]

+ * [[indefinite article]]

+ * [[article of faith]]

+ * [[articles of war]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[articular]]

+ * [[articulate]]

+ * [[articulation]]

+ * [[art]]

+ * [[arm]]

+ * [[arthritis]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}