English
artifice
Artifice comes from Latin artificium ‘art, craft, skill, talent, artifice,…’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *h₂er- ‘to fit, to fix, to put together, to slot’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂er-‘to fit, to fix, to put together, to slot’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂értisreconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*artisreconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEars‘cunning, artifice, fraud, stratagem’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEartifex
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEartificium‘art, craft, skill, talent, artifice, craftsmanship’
- Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600artifice
- Englishearliest quotation 1867same form
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂er-‘to fit, to fix, to put together, to slot’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂értisreconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*artisreconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEars‘cunning, artifice, fraud, stratagem’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEartifex
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEartificium‘art, craft, skill, talent, artifice, craftsmanship’
- Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600artifice
- Englishearliest quotation 1867same form
Earliest quotation: 1867, Egbert Pomroy Watson: “The Creator has so cunningly endowed our bodies that…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *h₂er- ‘to fit, to fix, to put together, to slot’
order, reason, ready, rate, army, arm, article, ordinary, ratio, alarm, harmony, coordinate, coordination, armor, subordinate, anarchy, ornament, ordination, ornate, arthritis, adorn, harmonious, harmonic, arithmetic, articulate, ordinate, armament, aristocratic, ordinator, artisan, ordinal, armadillo, articulation, harmonize, rime, ordain, ordo, rta, armature, archon, 73 more
through Proto-Indo-European *h₂értis
through Proto-Italic *artis
artistic, inertia, artiste, 19 more
through Latin ars ‘cunning, artifice, fraud, stratagem’
Today it means
noun Crafty deception.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *h₂er- / artifice