artifact

C2 Topic:Describing Qualities

US /ˈɑɹtɪfækt/ UK /ˈɑːtɪfækt/ See IPA manual

noun Freq #13237

Meanings

1

noun
An object made by people, especially an old or historically interesting one

The museum displayed ancient artifacts found in the desert.
2

noun
A flaw or distortion in an image, recording, or experiment caused by the process rather than the real subject

The photo had ugly compression artifacts after it was saved in a low-quality format.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

artefact

Word family

Forms artifacts

Derived forms artifactedartifactingartifactualcryoartifactecofactgeofactmicroartifact

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h₂er- Proto-Indo-European *h₂értis Proto-Italic *artis Latin ars Latin arte Proto-Indo-European *dʰeh₁-der. Proto-Indo-European *dʰh₁k-yé-ti Proto-Italic *θakjō Proto-Italic *fakjō Latin faciō Latin factum Vulgar Latin *artefactum Italian artefattoder. English artifact Alteration of artefact, from Italian artefatto, from Latin arte (“by skill”) (ablative of ars (“art”)) + factum (“thing made”) (from facio (“to make, do”)).

*h₂er- Proto-Indo-European artefatto Italian arte Latin *dʰeh₁- Proto-Indo-European

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Describing Qualities

# artifact

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** ˈɑɹtɪfækt
**IPA (UK):** ˈɑːtɪfækt
**Frequency rank:** 13237

## Meanings
1. An object made by people, especially an old or historically interesting one
2. A flaw or distortion in an image, recording, or experiment caused by the process rather than the real subject

## Examples
- The museum displayed ancient artifacts found in the desert.
- The photo had ugly compression artifacts after it was saved in a low-quality format.

## Synonyms
- artefact

## Derived Forms
- artifacted
- artifacting
- artifactual
- cryoartifact
- ecofact
- geofact
- microartifact

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: *h₂er-
- Root: artefatto
- Root: arte
- Root: *dʰeh₁-

## Etymology
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h₂er- Proto-Indo-European *h₂értis Proto-Italic *artis Latin ars Latin arte Proto-Indo-European *dʰeh₁-der. Proto-Indo-European *dʰh₁k-yé-ti Proto-Italic *θakjō Proto-Italic *fakjō Latin faciō Latin factum Vulgar Latin *artefactum Italian artefattoder. English artifact Alteration of artefact, from Italian artefatto, from Latin arte (“by skill”) (ablative of ars (“art”)) + factum (“thing made”) (from facio (“to make, do”)).

## AI Etymology
Artifact is an alteration of artefact, from Italian artefatto, from Latin arte (“by skill”) (ablative of ars (“art”)) + factum (“thing made”) (from facio (“to make, do”)). The historical chain records Proto-Indo-European *h₂er-, Proto-Indo-European *h₂értis, Proto-Italic *artis, Latin ars, Latin arte, Proto-Indo-European *dʰeh₁-, Proto-Indo-European *dʰh₁k-yé-ti, Proto-Italic *θakjō, Proto-Italic *fakjō, Latin faciō, Latin factum, Vulgar, Latin *artefactum, Italian artefatto, and English artifact. The analysis is mainly morphological: the modern nominal form is built from the named base and affix. Important recorded forms include *h₂er- (Proto-Indo-European), artefatto (Italian), arte (Latin), and *dʰeh₁- (Proto-Indo-European). Current senses include an object made by people, especially an old or historically interesting one and a flaw or distortion in an image, recording, or experiment caused by the process rather than the real subject. The wider family includes derived forms such as artifacted, artifacting, artifactual, cryoartifact, and ecofact.

## Topics
- Describing Qualities

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