Ar*tic`u*la"tion (&?;), n. [Cf. F.
articulation, fr. L. articulatio.] 1.
(Anat.) A joint or juncture between bones in the
skeleton.
&fist; Articulations may be immovable, when the bones are directly
united (synarthrosis), or slightly movable, when they are united
intervening substance (amphiarthrosis), or they may be more or less freely
movable, when the articular surfaces are covered with synovial membranes,
as in complete joints (diarthrosis). The last (diarthrosis) includes hinge
joints, admitting motion in one plane only (ginglymus), ball and socket
joints (enarthrosis), pivot and rotation joints, etc.
2. (Bot.) (a) The connection
of the parts of a plant by joints, as in pods. (b)
One of the nodes or joints, as in cane and maize.
(c) One of the parts intercepted between the joints;
also, a subdivision into parts at regular or irregular intervals as a
result of serial intermission in growth, as in the cane, grasses,
etc. Lindley.
3. The act of putting together with a joint or
joints; any meeting of parts in a joint.
4. The state of being jointed; connection of
parts. [R.]
That definiteness and articulation of imagery.
Coleridge.
5. The utterance of the elementary sounds of a
language by the appropriate movements of the organs, as in pronunciation;
as, a distinct articulation.
6. A sound made by the vocal organs; an articulate
utterance or an elementary sound, esp. a consonant.
