Artifact

Artifact
Artifact Ar"ti*fact, n. [L. ars, artis, art + facere, factum, to make.] 1. (Arch[ae]ol.) A product of human workmanship; -- applied esp. to the simpler products of aboriginal art as distinguished from natural objects.

Syn: artefact. [Webster 1913 Suppl.]

2. Any product of human workmanship; -- applied both to objects made for practical purposes as well as works of art. It is contrasted to {natural object}, i.e. anything produced by natural forces without the intervention of man.

Syn: artefact. [PJC]

3. (Biol.) A structure or appearance in protoplasm due to death, method of preparation of specimens, or the use of reagents, and not present during life.

Syn: artefact. [Webster 1913 Suppl.]

4. (Technology) an object, oservation, phenomenon, or result arising from hidden or unexpected causes extraneous to the subject of a study, and therefore spurious and having potential to lead one to an erroneous conclusion, or to invalidate the study. In experimental science, artifacts may arise due to inadvertant contamination of equipment, faulty experimental design or faulty analysis, or unexpected effects of agencies not known to affect the system under study.

Syn: artefact. [PJC]


The Collaborative International Dictionary of English. 2000.

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Look at other dictionaries:

  • Artifact — or artefact may refer to:* Artifact (archaeology), any object made or modified by a human culture, and later recovered by an archaeological endeavor * Artefact (band) black metal band from France * Artifact (band), a band from Norway * Artifact… …   Wikipedia

  • artifact — ARTIFÁCT s. n. obiect primitiv făcut de mâna omului. (< engl. artifact) Trimis de raduborza, 15.09.2007. Sursa: MDN …   Dicționar Român

  • artifact — artifact. См. артефакт. (Источник: «Англо русский толковый словарь генетических терминов». Арефьев В.А., Лисовенко Л.А., Москва: Изд во ВНИРО, 1995 г.) …   Молекулярная биология и генетика. Толковый словарь.

  • Artifact — Artifact. См. Артефакт. (Источник: «Металлы и сплавы. Справочник.» Под редакцией Ю.П. Солнцева; НПО Профессионал , НПО Мир и семья ; Санкт Петербург, 2003 г.) …   Словарь металлургических терминов

  • artifact — (n.) 1821, artefact, anything made by human art, from It. artefatto, from L. arte by skill (ablative of ars art; see ART (Cf. art) (n.)) + factum thing made, from facere to make, do (see FACTITIOUS (Cf …   Etymology dictionary

  • artifact — product, *work, production, opus …   New Dictionary of Synonyms

  • artifact — (Brit. artefact) ► NOUN ▪ a functional or decorative man made object. ORIGIN from Latin arte using art + factum something made …   English terms dictionary

  • artifact — [ärt′ə fakt΄] n. [L arte, by skill (abl. of ars, ART1) + factum, thing made (see FACT)] 1. any object made by human work; esp., a simple or primitive tool, weapon, vessel, etc. 2. Histology any nonnatural feature or structure accidentally… …   English World dictionary

  • artifact — 1. Anything, especially in a histologic specimen or a graphic record, that is caused by the technique used and not reflecting the original specimen or experiment. 2. A skin lesion produced or perpetuated by self inflicted action, as in dermatitis …   Medical dictionary

  • artifact — artefact; n. 1) (in radiography) an appearance on an image reflecting a problem with the radiographic technique rather than representing the true appearance of the patient. For example, a movement artifact is blurring of the image due to movement …   The new mediacal dictionary

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