article
[ahr-ti-kuh l]
- a written composition in prose, usually nonfiction, on a specific topic, forming an independent part of a book or other publication, as a newspaper or magazine.
- an individual object, member, or portion of a class; an item or particular: an article of food; articles of clothing.
- something of indefinite character or description: What is that article?
- an item for sale; commodity.
- Grammar. any member of a small class of words, or, as in Swedish or Romanian, affixes, found in certain languages, as English, French, and Arabic, that are linked to nouns and that typically have a grammatical function identifying the noun as a noun rather than describing it. In English the definite article is the, the indefinite article is a or an, and their force is generally to impart specificity to the noun or to single out the referent from the class named by the noun.
- a clause, item, point, or particular in a contract, treaty, or other formal agreement; a condition or stipulation in a contract or bargain: The lawyers disagreed on the article covering plagiarism suits.
- a separate clause or provision of a statute.
- Slang. a person.
- Archaic. a subject or matter of interest, thought, business, etc.
- Obsolete. a specific or critical point of time; juncture or moment: the article of death.
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- to set forth in articles; charge or accuse specifically: They articled his alleged crimes.
- to bind by articles of covenant or stipulation: to article an apprentice.
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Origin of article
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Related Words
pieceessaystorycolumnfeatureitempapereditorialcommentarychapterclausedetailpassageprovisionparagraphsubstancecommoditythingthingamajigunitExamples from the Web for articles
Contemporary Examples
It upsets me because I used to really, and still do sometimes, love the articles Salon writes.
The author of two books and dozens of articles about grizzlies, he is a grequent visitor in high school and college classrooms.
What the articles failed to mention was that it is only the extremely rich who were not benefiting from these policies.
“I want to meet with them,” Ponomarev said, pointing out that he is a reader of The Nation and often agrees with its articles.
The total number of articles was 30 million, with 4.4 million in the English-language edition.
Historical Examples
It was formed, in fact, by the Articles of Association in 1774.
We think there can be no room for objection to any of the articles.
Clarissa, Volume 1 (of 9)Samuel Richardson
John used to call our attention to your articles during the war.
Her Father's DaughterGene Stratton-Porter
His articles had been typewritten and she had never seen his handwriting.
Her Father's DaughterGene Stratton-Porter
She opened the blue chest, and packed the articles hastily within.
Tiverton TalesAlice Brown
article
- one of a class of objects; iteman article of clothing
- an unspecified or previously named thing, esp a small objecthe put the article on the table
- a distinct part of a subject or action
- a written composition on a subject, often being one of several found in a magazine, newspaper, etc
- grammar a kind of determiner, occurring in many languages including English, that lacks independent meaning but may serve to indicate the specificity of reference of the noun phrase with which it occursSee also definite article, indefinite article
- a clause or section in a written document such as a treaty, contract, statute, etc
- in articles formerly, undergoing training, according to the terms of a written contract, in the legal profession
- (often capital) Christianity See article of faith, Thirty-nine Articles
- archaic a topic or subject
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- archaic to accuse
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Word Origin
C13: from Old French, from Latin articulus small joint, from artus joint
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Word Origin and History for articles
article
n.
c.1200, "separate parts of anything written" (e.g. the statements in the Apostles' Creed, the clauses of a statute or contract), from Old French article (13c.), from Latin articulus, diminutive of artus "a joint" (from PIE *ar-tu-, from *ar- "to fit together;" (see arm (n.1)).
Meaning extended to "a small division," then generalized to "item, thing." Older sense preserved in Articles of War "military regulations" (1716) and Articles of Confederation (U.S. history). Meaning "literary composition in a journal, etc." (independent, but part of a larger work) first recorded 1712. Meaning "piece of property" (clothing, etc.) first attested 1796, originally in rogue's cant.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
articles
In grammar, the words a, an, and the, which precede a noun or its modifier. The is the definite article; a and an are indefinite articles.
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The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.