Article

How to spell article

7 letters · 3 syllables

How to pronounce article

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does article mean?

1. nounA self-contained piece of writing published in a newspaper, magazine, or website.
2. nounA particular item or object, especially one of a set.
3. nounA grammatical word such as 'a', 'an', or 'the' that accompanies a noun.
4. nounA distinct numbered clause or section of a legal document, treaty, or constitution.

Article in a sentence

• She submitted her article to the editor before the deadline.

• Every article of clothing in the suitcase was neatly folded.

• The teacher explained when to use a definite article before a noun.

• The lawyer cited the relevant article of the contract.

• The magazine ran a long article about home insulation.

• The customs form asked her to list each article she was carrying.

Where does article come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word descends from the Latin articulus, which was the diminutive of artus, meaning a 'joint' or 'limb', so the literal sense was 'a little joint' or 'a small connecting part'. From the idea of a small division of the body, the meaning extended in Latin and medieval usage to a small division of writing or speech: a distinct clause, point, or paragraph. English took it through Old French article in the 1200s, at first for separate clauses of a creed or a legal document. Over time the sense of a 'separate item' broadened to cover an individual object (an article of clothing) and a self-contained piece of writing (a newspaper article), while grammarians borrowed it for the little words 'a', 'an', and 'the'. The same artus root surfaces in 'articulate' and 'articulated lorry', both built on the notion of joints and connected parts, which is a useful clue to the spelling: think 'art' plus a small joint, not 'artic'.

How the word is built

• art- (from Latin artus: joint)
• -icle (diminutive suffix, meaning a small part)