English Online Dictionary. What means article? What does article mean?
English
Etymology
From Middle English article, from Old French article, from Latin articulus (“a joint, limb, member, part, division, the article in grammar, a point of time”), from Latin artus, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂értus (“that which is fit together; juncture, ordering”), from the root *h₂er- (“to join, fit (together)”). Doublet of articulus.
Pronunciation
- (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /ˈɑːtɪkəl/, [ˈɑːtʰɪkʰəɫ]
- (General American) IPA(key): /ˈɑɹtɪkəl/, /ˈɑɹtəkl̩/, [ˈɑ(ː)ɹɾɨkɫ̩]
- Rhymes: -ɑː(ɹ)tɪkəl
Noun
article (plural articles)
- A piece of nonfiction writing such as a story, report, opinion piece, or entry in a newspaper, magazine, journal, encyclopedia, etc.
- An object, a member of a group or class.
- (grammar) A part of speech that indicates, specifies and limits a noun (a, an, or the in English). In some languages the article may appear as an ending (e.g. definite article in Swedish) or there may be none (e.g. Russian, Pashto).
- A section of a legal document, bylaws, etc. or, in the plural, the entire document seen as a collection of these.
- Short for genuine article. (Can we add an example for this sense?)
- A part or segment of something joined to other parts, or, in combination, forming a structured set.
- (derogatory, dated) A person; an individual.
- (obsolete, slang) A wench.
- (dated) Subject matter; concern.
- (dated) A distinct part.
- (obsolete) A precise point in time; a moment.
- 1805, Charles Hall, The Effects of Civilisation on the People in European States, Original Preface:
- […] who has more opportunities of acquiring the knowledge, than a physician? He is admitted into the dwellings of all ranks of people, and into the innermost parts of them; he sees them by their fireside, at their tables, and in their beds; he sees them at work, and at their recreations; he sees them in health, in sickness, and in the article of death; […]
Derived terms
Related terms
- articulate
- articulation
Translations
Verb
article (third-person singular simple present articles, present participle articling, simple past and past participle articled)
- (transitive) To bind by articles of apprenticeship.
- (obsolete) To accuse or charge by an exhibition of articles or accusations.
- 1793, Manning of the Navy Act (Statutes of George III 33 c. 66) ¶VIII[2]:
- […] if the Captain of any Merchant ship under convoy shall wilfully disobey Signals […] he shall be liable to be articled against in the High Court of Admiralty […]
- To formulate in articles; to set forth in distinct particulars.
Derived terms
- articled clerk
Further reading
- “article”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
- William Dwight Whitney, Benjamin E[li] Smith, editors (1911), “article”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., →OCLC.
Anagrams
- clairet, lacerti, recital
Catalan
Etymology
Borrowed from Latin articulus. Compare the inherited doublet artell.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): (Central, Balearic) [ərˈti.klə]
- IPA(key): (Valencia) [aɾˈti.kle]
Noun
article m (plural articles)
- article (a piece of nonfictional writing)
- (grammar) article
Derived terms
- article determinat
- article definit
Further reading
- “article” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.
- “article”, in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana, 2025.
- “article” in Diccionari normatiu valencià, Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua.
- “article” in Diccionari català-valencià-balear, Antoni Maria Alcover and Francesc de Borja Moll, 1962.
French
Etymology
Inherited from Old French article, borrowed from Latin articulus. Compare the inherited doublet orteil.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /aʁ.tikl/
Noun
article m (plural articles)
- article (a piece of nonfictional writing)
- (grammar) article
- merchandise, sales article
- section (of a law)
- (dated) joint, articulation
- moment (only in the phrase à l’article de la mort)
Derived terms
Related terms
Descendants
- → Romanian: articol (partly)
- → Russian: артикль (artiklʹ)
Further reading
- “article”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.
Occitan
Etymology
Borrowed from Latin articulus.
Pronunciation
Noun
article m (plural articles)
- article (a piece of nonfictional writing)
Old French
Etymology
Borrowed from Latin articulus.
Noun
article oblique singular, m (oblique plural articles, nominative singular articles, nominative plural article)
- (anatomy) joint; articulation
- (religion) article (of faith)
- article (clause in a legal document or treaty)
Usage notes
- Occasionally used as a feminine noun
Descendants
- French: article
References
- Godefroy, Frédéric, Dictionnaire de l’ancienne langue française et de tous ses dialectes du IXe au XVe siècle (1881) (article, supplement)
- article on the Anglo-Norman On-Line Hub