Main Entry: ¹ar·ti·cle

Pronunciation: \ˈär-ti-kəl\

Function: 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) <articles 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 <articles of value>
5 : a thing or person of a particular and distinctive kind or class <the genuine article>