Definify.com

Webster 1913 Edition

Articulate

Ar-tic′u-late

,
Adj.
[L.
articulatus
. See
Articulata
.]
1.
Expressed in articles or in separate items or particulars.
[Archaic]
Bacon.
2.
Jointed; formed with joints; consisting of segments united by joints;
as,
articulate
animals or plants
.
3.
Distinctly uttered; spoken so as to be intelligible; characterized by division into words and syllables;
as,
articulate
speech, sounds, words
.
Total changes of party and
articulate
opinion.
Carlyle.

Ar-tic′u-late

,
Noun.
(Zool.)
An animal of the subkingdom Articulata.

Ar-tic′u-late

,
Verb.
I.
[
imp. & p. p.
Articulated
;
p. pr. & vb. n.
Articulating
]
.
1.
To utter articulate sounds; to utter the elementary sounds of a language; to enunciate; to speak distinctly.
2.
To treat or make terms.
[Obs.]
Shak.
3.
To join or be connected by articulation.

Ar-tic′u-late

,
Verb.
T.
1.
To joint; to unite by means of a joint; to put together with joints or at the joints.
2.
To draw up or write in separate articles; to particularize; to specify.
[Obs.]
3.
To form, as the elementary sounds; to utter in distinct syllables or words; to enunciate;
as, to
articulate
letters or language
.
“To articulate a word.”
Ray.
4.
To express distinctly; to give utterance to.
Luther
articulated
himself upon a process that hand already begun in the Christian church.
Bibliotheca Sacra.
To . . .
articulate
the dumb, deep want of the people.
Carlyle.

Webster 1828 Edition

Articulate

ARTIC'ULATE

,
Adj.
[L. articulatus, jointed, distinct.]
1.
Formed by jointing or articulation of the organs of speech; applied to sound. An articulate sound is made by closing and opening the organs of speech. The junction or closing of the organs forms a joint or articulation, as in the syllables ab, ad, ap; in passing from one articulation to another, the organs are, or may be opened, and a vowel is uttered, as in attune; and the different articulations, with the intervening vocal sounds, from what is called articulate sounds; sounds distinct, separate, and modified by articulation or jointing. This articulation constitutes the prominent difference between the human voice and that of brutes. Brutes open the mouth and make vocal sounds, but have either not at all, or very imperfectly, the power of articulation.
2.
Expressed in articles, or in separate particulars. [Not used.]
3.
Jointed; formed with joints.

ARTIC'ULATE

,
Verb.
T.
1.
To utter articulate sounds; to utter distinct syllables or words.
2.
To draw up or write in separate particulars. [Not used.]
3.
To treat, stipulate or make terms. [Not used.]
4.
To joint.

Definition 2024

articulate

articulate

English

Pronunciation

  • (UK) enPR: ärtĭ'kyələt, IPA(key): /ɑː(ɹ)ˈtɪk.jʊ.lət/
  • (US) enPR: ärtĭ'kyələt, IPA(key): /ɑːɹˈtɪk.jə.lət/

Adjective

articulate ‎(comparative more articulate, superlative most articulate)

  1. clear, effective
  2. especially, speaking in a clear or effective manner
    She’s a bright, articulate young woman.‎
  3. able to bend or hinge at certain points or intervals
    The robot arm was articulate in two directions.‎
    articulate animals or plants‎
  4. Expressed in articles or in separate items or particulars.
    (Can we find and add a quotation of Francis Bacon to this entry?)
  5. (obsolete, of sound) Related to human speech, as distinct from the vocalisation of animals.
    • 1728, James Knapton and John Knapton, Cyclopaedia, or an Universal Dictionary of Arts and Sciences, page 146:
      Brutes cannot form articulate Sounds, cannot articulate the Sounds of the Voice, excepting some few Birds, as the Parrot, Pye, &c.
Synonyms
Translations

Noun

articulate ‎(plural articulates)

  1. (zoology) An animal of the subkingdom Articulata.

Etymology 2

From the adjective.

Pronunciation

  • (UK) enPR: ärtĭ'kyəlāt, IPA(key): /ɑː(ɹ)ˈtɪk.jʊ.leɪt/
  • (US) enPR: ärtĭ'kyəlāt, IPA(key): /ɑːɹˈtɪk.jə.leɪt/

Verb

articulate ‎(third-person singular simple present articulates, present participle articulating, simple past and past participle articulated)

  1. To make clear or effective.
  2. To speak clearly; to enunciate.
    I wish he’d articulate his words more clearly.
  3. To explain; to put into words; to make something specific.
    I like this painting, but I can’t articulate why.
  4. To bend or hinge something at intervals, or to allow or build something so that it can bend.
    an articulated bus
  5. (music) to attack a note, as by tonguing, slurring, bowing, etc.
    Articulate that passage heavily.
  6. (anatomy) to form a joint or connect by joints
    The lower jaw articulates with the skull at the temporomandibular joint.
  7. (obsolete) To treat or make terms.
    (Can we find and add a quotation of Shakespeare to this entry?)
Derived terms
Related terms
Translations

Latin

Verb

articulāte

  1. first-person plural present active imperative of articulō

References

Etymology

Borrowing from Latin articulātus ‎(“distinct, articulated, jointed”).

Similar Results