Article

a written composition in prose, usually nonfiction, on a specific topic, forming an independent part of a book or other publication, as a newspaper or magazine.
an individual object, member, or portion of a cl-ss; an item or particular:
an article of food; articles of clothing.
something of indefinite character or description:
what is that article?
an item for sale; commodity.
grammar. any member of a small cl-ss of words, or, as in swedish or romanian, affixes, found in certain languages, as english, french, and arabic, that are linked to nouns and that typically have a grammatical function identifying the noun as a noun rather than describing it. in english the is the, the is a or an, and their force is generally to impart specificity to the noun or to single out the referent from the cl-ss named by the noun.
a clause, item, point, or particular in a contract, treaty, or other formal agreement; a condition or stipulation in a contract or bargain:
the lawyers disagreed on the article covering plagiarism suits.
a separate clause or provision of a statute.
slang. a person.
archaic. a subject or matter of interest, thought, business, etc.
obsolete. a specific or critical point of time; juncture or moment:
the article of death.
to set forth in articles; charge or accuse specifically:
they articled his alleged crimes.
to bind by articles of covenant or stipulation:
to article an apprentice.
contemporary examples

for an article in the journal of public health and epidemiology, the author must fork over $650 for “handling.”
no, stem cells don’t cause autism kent sepkowitz september 10, 2014

correction: this article misstated that casey was holding a teddy bear in court.
casey’s bombsh-ll accusation diane dimond may 23, 2011

monica lewinsky’s ‘vanity fair’ article reluctantly plunges us straight back into the frothing world of ‘90s gossip.
how monica lewinsky changed the media tina brown may 8, 2014

i interviewed mayer about the major findings in her article and a few things she learned after the piece had gone to press.
the real story behind the cia’s torture policy scott horton june 14, 2009

i thought it might just be an article or something for myself.
sheila heti: how i write noah charney june 18, 2013

historical examples

and is it the meaning of that article of the creed, i believe the pardon of my sins?
a christian directory (part 4 of 4) richard baxter

this set them to looking up some other article which might impart variety to their fare.
brave and bold horatio alger

i cannot conceal from you that your article on d’arthez has roused a terrific hubbub.
a distinguished provincial at paris honore de balzac

yet in the protectionist dispensation, this has become an article of faith.
’tis sixty years since charles francis adams

no reader could have guessed from my article my enthusiasm as i wrote it.
our philadelphia elizabeth robins pennell

noun
one of a cl-ss of objects; item: an article of clothing
an unspecified or previously named thing, esp a small object: he put the article on the table
a distinct part of a subject or action
a written composition on a subject, often being one of several found in a magazine, newspaper, etc
(grammar) a kind of determiner, occurring in many languages including english, that lacks independent meaning but may serve to indicate the specificity of reference of the noun phrase with which it occurs see also definite article, indefinite article
a clause or section in a written doc-ment such as a treaty, contract, statute, etc
in articles, formerly, undergoing training, according to the terms of a written contract, in the legal profession
(often capital) (christianity) see article of faith, thirty-nine articles
(archaic) a topic or subject
verb (transitive)
(archaic) to accuse
n.

c.1200, “separate parts of anything written” (e.g. the statements in the apostles’ creed, the clauses of a statute or contract), from old french article (13c.), from latin articulus, diminutive of artus “a joint” (from pie -ar-tu-, from -ar- “to fit together;” (see arm (n.1)).

meaning extended to “a small division,” then generalized to “item, thing.” older sense preserved in articles of war “military regulations” (1716) and articles of confederation (u.s. history). meaning “literary composition in a journal, etc.” (independent, but part of a larger work) first recorded 1712. meaning “piece of property” (clothing, etc.) first attested 1796, originally in rogue’s cant.

noun

a person, esp one considered to be clever, cute, or resourceful; number •always preceded by an adjective or by the locution ”quite an”: he is some slick article/ your little sister’s quite an article