articulation
(ɑːˌtɪkjʊˈleɪʃən)
[a. F. articulation (16th c. in Littré), ad. L. articulātiōn-em, n. of action f. articulāre to joint.]
1. The action or process of jointing; the state of being jointed; mode of jointing or junction.
| 1597 Lowe Art Chyrurg. (1634) 360 Bones..joyned together..by Articulation. 1706 Art of Painting (1744) 201 Expressing exactly the articulation of the members. 1873 Burton Hist. Scot. I. i. 2 A long process of growth and articulation. 1881 Mivart Cat 65 Serves for the articulation of the lower jaw. 1881 G. Milner Country Pleas. xxxv. 197 The wonderful structure and articulation of the branches. |
b. concr. A jointed structure or series.
| 1873 Burton Hist. Scot. I. iii. 82 An articulation of mountains. |
2. A joint. a. In the animal body: The structure or mechanism whereby two bones, or two parts of the invertebrate skeleton, are connected, whether stiffly, or in such a way that one moves in or on the other.
| 1615 Crooke Body of Man 913 Almost euery articulation is cursted ouer with a gristle to make the motion more easie. 1743 tr. Heister's Surg. 106 Fractures near the Articulations. 1835 Kirby Hab. & Inst. Anim. I. vi. 205 To form a kind of ball and socket articulation. 1835 Southw. Smith Philos. Health I. v. 198 The union of the bones of the cranium affords an example of an immoveable articulation. |
b. In plants. The place at which a deciduous member, as a leaf, separates from the plant; also, the knots or joints in the stems of grasses, canes, etc.
| 1658 Sir T. Browne Gard. Cyrus II. 540 In the parts of plants which are not ordained for motion, we do not expect correspondent Articulations. 1742 Bailey, Articulation (among Herbalists), the Jointure or Knots that are in stalks or roots. 1830 Lindley Nat. Syst. Bot. 223 The petiole almost always having an articulation. |
3. One of the segments of a jointed body; the part contained between two joints, in a limb, the stem of a grass, etc.
| 1664 H. More Myst. Iniq. iv. 10 The distinct Limbs and articulations thereof. 1833 Lyell Elem. Geol. xix. (1874) 330 The numerous ‘articulations’ once composing the stem, arms and body of the encrinite were scattered at random. 1860 Samuelson Honey Bee ii. 17 Distinctly divided into what appear to be perfect rings or articulations. |
† 4. Bending by flexible joints. Obs. rare.
| 1541 R. Copland Guydon's Quest. Cyrurg., Without these [muscles] it is nat possyble to make artyculacyon or mouyng. |
† 5. (See quot.) Obs. rare.
| 1681 tr. Willis' Rem. Med. Wks., Articulation, a shooting of spriggs from the joynts. |
6. The utterance of the distinct elements of speech; articulate voice.
| 1615 Crooke Body of Man 629 The Tongue..is the very organ of Articulation. 1626 Bacon Sylva §194 Overgreat distance confoundeth the articulation of sounds. 1773 Ld. Monboddo Lang. (1774) I. i. xv. 184 Articulation is not natural to man. 1881 Whitney Proc. Amer. Philol. Assoc. 22 Articulation is virtually syllabication,—a breaking of the stream of utterance into joints, by the intervention of closer utterances or consonants..between the opener utterances or vowels. |
7. Utterance; speech.
| a 1711 Ken Anodynes Poet. Wks. 1721 III. 418 My Spirit intercepts my Cries, E're they t'articulation rise. 1855 Singleton Virgil I. 311 And to my jaws articulation clave. |
8. An articulate sound or utterance.
| 1764 Reid Inquiry iv. §2 The articulations of the voice seem to be of all signs the most proper for artificial language. 1855 H. Spencer Psychol. (1872) I. ii. ii. 173 Sequent notes, or articulations, cling together with tenacity. |
b. esp. A consonant.
| 1849 A. M. Bell Princ. Elocut. 39 All actions of the vocal organs which partially or wholly obstruct or which compress the breath or voice, are called articulations. 1878 ― ibid., The oral actions here denominated ‘articulations’ have been more commonly called ‘consonants.’ |
9. Articulate quality, distinctness. rare.
| c 1785 Cowper Needl. Alarm 68 The looks and gestures of their griefs and fears Have all articulation in his ears. a 1834 Coleridge (in Webster), That definiteness and articulation of imagery. |