artificial (English)
Where does "artificial" come from?
The English adjective artificial, meaning man-made, traces back to Middle English[1]. The word traveled through Old French, borrowing from the Latin 'artificiālis'[1]. This Latin term derived from 'artificium' meaning skill, which combined 'artifex' and the suffix '-ium'[3]. The root 'artifex' itself stems from 'ars' meaning art, paired with '-fex' representing a maker derived from 'facere' meaning to make[4]. Ultimately, the Latin 'ars' traces back to Proto-Indo-European '*h₂er-' meaning to join, through Proto-Italic '*artis' and '*h₂r̥tís' meaning fitting[5].
Open questions
- The ultimate derivation of the root from Proto-Indo-European is a linguistic reconstruction. [5]
Full etymology tree
- artificial (English), 'Man-made; made by humans; of artifice.'
- borrowed artificial (Middle English)
- borrowed artificiel (French), 'artificial'
- borrowed artificialis (Latin), 'artificial'
- derived artificium (Latin), 'art, craft, skill, talent, artifice, craftsmanship'
- derived artifex (Latin), 'artist, actor'
- compound ars (Latin), 'art, skill, craft, handicraft'
- inherited *artis (Proto-Italic)
- inherited *h₂r̥tís (Proto-Indo-European)
- derived *h₂er- (Proto-Indo-European), 'to fit, to fix, to put together, to slot'
- inherited *h₂r̥tís (Proto-Indo-European)
- inherited *artis (Proto-Italic)
- compound -fex (Latin), 'denotes maker or performer'
- compound ars (Latin), 'art, skill, craft, handicraft'
- suffix -ium (Latin), 'Suffix used to form abstract nouns, sometimes denoting offices and groups. May no longer be productive.'
- derived artifex (Latin), 'artist, actor'
- suffix -alis (Latin), 'Suffixed to nouns or numerals creating adjectives of relationship.'
- derived artificium (Latin), 'art, craft, skill, talent, artifice, craftsmanship'
- borrowed artificialis (Latin), 'artificial'
- borrowed artificiel (French), 'artificial'
- borrowed artificial (Middle English)
Ancestors
- *h₂er- (Proto-Indo-European)
- artificialis (Latin)
- *dʰeh₁- (Proto-Indo-European)
Cognates and doublets
- artificiel (French)
Descendants and derived words
- artificial abortion (English)
- artificial anus (English)
- artificial art (English)
- artificial bee colony (English)
- artificial dumbness (English)
- artificial element (English)
- artificial florist (English)
- artificial general intelligence (English)
- artificial grammar learning (English)
- artificial horizon (English)
- artificial ice (English)
- artificial idiocy (English)
Sources
- artificial (English) - Wiktionary
- artificialis (Latin) - Wiktionary
- artificium (Latin) - Wiktionary
- artifex (Latin) - Wiktionary
- ars (Latin) - Wiktionary
- artificiel (French) - Wiktionary
Updated August 2026
Etymology data from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · About Miraris