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Glite Dictionary
🗣️ To express clearly 🗣️ Expressing well 👄 To pronounce clearly 🦴 To join by joints 🐜 Having jointed parts
articulate

articulate

2 7.7
Having a body made of connected parts that can move
  • adjective
  • /ɑrˈtɪkjʊlɪt/
  • Specialized
translation icon : articulado
  • The insect's legs are articulate, allowing it to move with precision across various surfaces.

Examples

  • The fish's fins are articulate structures that help it navigate through the water efficiently.

  • Each segment of the arm is articulate, making it flexible and capable of a wide range of movements.

  • The house white is a delightfully articulate chablis.

    Volunteers (1985)

  • The sacrum comprises four fused vertebrae, and these articulate with the innominate bones (Figure 11).

    Academic text (2001)

  • Preciosa's "desenvoltura" is etymologically apt: she is unbound, mobile, physically and verbally articulate.

    Academic text (1994)

Synonyms

articulated
vsarticulate
  • Specialized
6.2

Having parts with joints that let them move

describes segments joined by joints without implying movement

How Articulated

articulate
  • Specialized
2 7.7
segmented
5.5

Surface Forms

articulate positive

Morphology

articulate = articul + ate

The adjectival sense 'consisting of segments joined by joints' reflects the root meaning and can be partially inferred if the learner knows related words like 'articulation', but the morpheme itself is not transparent.

Etymology

Articulate comes from the Latin word articulus, which means 'small joint' or 'part'. This is why we call a body or structure 'articulate' when it has clear joints or segments that join and move.