artifact

Definition from Wiktionary, a free dictionary

Contents 1 English 1.1 Alternative spellings 1.2 Etymology 1.3 Noun 1.3.1 Dictionary notes 1.3.2 Translations 1.3.3 External links

[edit] English

[edit] Alternative spellings

• artefact

[edit] Etymology

From Latin ars (“‘art’”) + factum (“‘something made’”) (neuter inflection of the past participle of facere (“‘do, make’”)).

[edit] Noun

artifact (plural artifacts)

1. An object made or shaped by human hand.
2. (archaeology) An object, such as a tool, weapon or ornament, of archaeological or historical interest, especially such an object found at an archaeological excavation.

   The dig produced many Roman artifacts.

3. Something viewed as a product of human conception or agency rather than an inherent element.
   • "The very act of looking at a naked model was an artifact of male supremacy" (Philip Weiss).

   Ref: The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. Houghton Mifflin Company, 2004. 8 March 2007.

4. A structure or finding in an experiment or investigation that is not a true feature of the object under observation, but is a result of external action, the test arrangement, or an experimental error.

   The spot on his lung turned out to be an artifact of the X-ray process.

[edit] Dictionary notes

• artefact is the preferred spelling in Australia’s Macquarie Dictionary, with artifact listed as a variant.
• artifact is preferred by the Oxford English Dictionary and most American dictionaries.

[edit] Translations

[edit] External links

• artifact in The Century Dictionary, The Century Co., New York, 1911