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.
Hear it pronounced