artifact

artifact
—artifactual /ahr'teuh fak"chooh euhl/, adj.
/ahr"teuh fakt'/, n.
1. any object made by human beings, esp. with a view to subsequent use.
2. a handmade object, as a tool, or the remains of one, as a shard of pottery, characteristic of an earlier time or cultural stage, esp. such an object found at an archaeological excavation.
3. any mass-produced, usually inexpensive object reflecting contemporary society or popular culture: artifacts of the pop rock generation.
4. a substance or structure not naturally present in the matter being observed but formed by artificial means, as during preparation of a microscope slide.
5. a spurious observation or result arising from preparatory or investigative procedures.
6. any feature that is not naturally present but is a product of an extrinsic agent, method, or the like: statistical artifacts that make the inflation rate seem greater than it is.
Also, artefact.
[1815-25; var. of artefact < L phrase arte factum (something) made with skill. See ART, FACT]

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Universalium. 2010.

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  • Artifact — Ar ti*fact, n. [L. ars, artis, art + facere, factum, to make.] 1. (Arch[ae]ol.) A product of human workmanship; applied esp. to the simpler products of aboriginal art as distinguished from natural objects. Syn: artefact. [Webster 1913 Suppl.] 2.… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • artifact — artifact. См. артефакт. (Источник: «Англо русский толковый словарь генетических терминов». Арефьев В.А., Лисовенко Л.А., Москва: Изд во ВНИРО, 1995 г.) …   Молекулярная биология и генетика. Толковый словарь.

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  • artifact — (n.) 1821, artefact, anything made by human art, from It. artefatto, from L. arte by skill (ablative of ars art; see ART (Cf. art) (n.)) + factum thing made, from facere to make, do (see FACTITIOUS (Cf …   Etymology dictionary

  • artifact — product, *work, production, opus …   New Dictionary of Synonyms

  • artifact — (Brit. artefact) ► NOUN ▪ a functional or decorative man made object. ORIGIN from Latin arte using art + factum something made …   English terms dictionary

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