I. ˈär-ti-kəl noun
Etymology: Middle English, from Anglo-French, from Latin articulus joint, division, diminutive of artus joint, limb; akin to Greek arariskein to fit — more at arm
Date: 13th century
1.
a. : a distinct often numbered section of a writing
b. : a separate clause
c. : a stipulation in a document (as a contract or a creed)
article s of indenture
d. : a nonfictional prose composition usually forming an independent part of a publication (as a magazine)
2. : an item of business : matter
3. : any of a small set of words or affixes (as a, an, and the ) used with nouns to limit or give definiteness to the application
4. : a member of a class of things ; especially : an item of goods
article s of value
5. : a thing or person of a particular and distinctive kind or class
the genuine article
II. transitive verb
( -cled ; ar·ti·cling -k(ə-)liŋ)
Date: 1820
: to bind by articles (as of apprenticeship)