- articulate (v.)
- 1590s, "to divide speech into distinct parts," from L. articulatus, pp. of articulare "to separate into joints," also "to utter distinctly," from articulus "joint" (see article). Generalized sense of "express in words" is from 1690s. Literal sense, "to join, to attach by joints," is attested from 1610s. Earlier senses, "to set forth in articles" (1560s), "to bring a charge against" (c.1560) now are obsolete or nearly so. The adj. is recorded from 1580s in the speech sense (literal meaning "composed of segments united by joints" is from c.1600); the general sense of "speaking accurately" is short for articulate-speaking (1829).