Etymograph

English

articulus

Articulus comes from Latin articulus ‘a point connecting various parts of the body’, from artus ‘joint’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₂er- ‘to join’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂er-1‘to join’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂r-tú-s1‘that which is fit together’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*artus1reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEartus2‘joint’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEarticulus3‘a point connecting various parts of the body’
  6. Englishtodayarticulus3

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin artus
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Latin articulus
  3. 3 Wiktionary, English articulus

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂er-Wiktionary, Latin artus‘to join’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂r-tú-sWiktionary, Latin artus‘that which is fit together’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*artusWiktionary, Latin artusreconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEartusWiktionary, Latin articulus‘joint’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEarticulusWiktionary, English articulus‘a point connecting various parts of the body’
  6. EnglishtodayarticulusWiktionary, English articulus

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *h₂er- ‘to join’

order, reason, ready, rate, army, art, arm, ordinary, artist, ratio, alarm, harmony, coordinate, coordination, armor, subordinate, anarchy, ornament, ordination, ornate, arthritis, adorn, harmonic, arithmetic, ordinate, inert, armament, harmonious, aristocratic, ordinator, artisan, ordinal, armadillo, harmonize, rime, ordain, rta, ordo, armature, archon, 78 more

through Latin articulus ‘a point connecting various parts of the body’

inarticulate, 6 more

Today it means

noun A joint of the cirri of the Crinoidea.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “articulus”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Latin artus, Latin articulus. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *h₂er- / articulus

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