artifact

Word family

• artifactual
  adjectiveC2
• artefact
  nounC1

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

All four words describe objects valued because they come from the past, but each carries a different focus. 'Artifact' (American) or 'artefact' (British) is the broadest and most neutral term used by archaeologists for any human-made object recovered from an earlier culture, from a stone arrowhead to a clay bowl. 'Relic' suggests something that has barely survived from a vanished people or way of life, often with religious or emotional weight, as in 'medieval relics displayed in the cathedral.' 'Antiquity' is more formal and usually appears in the plural to mean treasures of the ancient world, especially Greek or Roman, as in 'classical antiquities housed in the British Museum.' 'Antique' is the everyday word for an old object — typically furniture, jewelry, or household goods — that is collected for beauty or value rather than studied for cultural meaning.

Common collocations

Etymology

Borrowed into English in the early 1800s from Latin 'arte factum', meaning 'made by skill' — from 'arte', the ablative of 'ars' (art, craft), plus 'factum', the past participle of 'facere' (to make or do). The form 'artifact' became the standard American spelling, while 'artefact' settled as the British form.