artifact

or ar·te·fact

[ahr-tuh-fakt]

noun

any object made by human beings, especially with a view to subsequent use.

a handmade object, as a tool, or the remains of one, as a shard of pottery, characteristic of an earlier time or cultural stage, especially such an object found at an archaeological excavation.

any mass-produced, usually inexpensive object reflecting contemporary society or popular culture: artifacts of the pop rock generation.

a substance or structure not naturally present in the matter being observed but formed by artificial means, as during preparation of a microscope slide.

a spurious observation or result arising from preparatory or investigative procedures.

any feature that is not naturally present but is a product of an extrinsic agent, method, or the like: statistical artifacts that make the inflation rate seem greater than it is.

Origin of artifact

1815–25; variant of artefact < Latin phrase arte factum (something) made with skill. See art¹, fact

Related formsar·ti·fac·tu·al

[ahr-tuh-fak-choo-uh l] /ˌɑr təˈfæk tʃu əl/, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for artifactual

Historical Examples of artifactual

Speculation goes as far as to suggest that these human beings became increasingly dependent on artifactual means of notation.
The Civilization of Illiteracy
Mihai Nadin

British Dictionary definitions for artifactual

artifact

noun

a variant spelling of artefact

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for artifactual

adj.

also artefactual, 1914, from artifact + -al (1).

artifact

1821, artefact, "anything made by human art," from Italian artefatto, from Latin arte "by skill" (ablative of ars "art;" see art (n.)) + factum "thing made," from facere "to make, do" (see factitious). The spelling with -i- is by 1884, by influence of the Latin stem. Archaeological application dates from 1890.

artifactual in Medicine

artifact

n.

A structure or substance not normally present but produced by an external agent or action, such as a structure seen in a microscopic specimen after fixation that is not present in the living tissue.

A skin lesion produced or perpetuated by self-inflicted action.

Related formsar′ti•fac•ti′tious (-făk-tĭsh′əs) null adj.

artifactual in Science

artifact

An object produced or shaped by human craft, especially a tool, weapon, or ornament of archaeological or historical interest.

An artificial product or effect observed in a natural system, especially one introduced by the technology used in scientific investigation or by experimental error.