artificial English · revision 6553

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=c. 1390|origins=la ars, la facio}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˌɑː.tɪˈfɪʃ.əl/ ''(UK)''; /ˌɑɹ.təˈfɪʃ.əl/ ''(US)''^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[bor|fro|artificial]], artificiel,^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024) from [[la|artificiālis|t=of art; according to the rules of art]], from [[m|la|artificium|t=a work of art; skill]] (see [[artifice]]),^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(NODE 1998) from [[m|la|artifex|t=craftsman]], from the stem of [[m|la|ars|t=art]] and [[m|la|facio|alt=facere|t=to make]].^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ In the phrase ''artificial day'', the part of the day from sunrise to sunset as opposed to the natural day of 24 hours: about 1390, in Chaucer's ''Canterbury Tales''.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Made by human skill rather than occurring naturally is from the early 15th century, probably about 1425 in Barnhart.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) From the 16th century it was applied to anything made in imitation of or as a substitute for something natural, such as artificial light or teeth (1577).^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) Full of affectation, insincere, is from the 1590s, and fictitious or not genuine from the 1640s.^(Etymonline) ''Artificial insemination'' is from 1894, artificial satellites from 1920,^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) and ''artificial intelligence'' was coined in 1956.^(Etymonline) In Scots and Somerset dialect ''artificial'' meant chemical manure.^(Wright 1898)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1390 – artificial day, in Chaucer.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * c. 1425 – made by human skill.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1577 – made in imitation.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1590s – insincere.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1894 – artificial insemination.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1956 – artificial intelligence.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Adjective===

+ # Made by people rather than occurring naturally: ''artificial light''.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # Made as a copy of something natural; [[fake]] or [[imitation]]: ''artificial flowers''.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # Not sincere; [[affected]]: ''an artificial smile''.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[artificiality]]

+ * [[artificially]]

+ * [[artificialness]]

+ * [[overartificial]]

+ * [[unartificial]]

+ * [[artificial intelligence]]

+ * [[artificial selection]]

+ * [[artificial turf]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[artifact]]

+ * [[artifice]]

+ * [[artificer]]

+ * [[art]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}