artifex

Latin

Etymology

From ars (art) +‎ -fex (suffix representing a maker or producer).

Pronunciation

Noun

artifex m or f (genitive artificis); third declension

  1. artist, actor
  2. craftsman, master (of a craft)
    Synonyms: opifex, faber
    • Vitruvius, De Architectura, Book I, Chapter I, section 3; English translation by Frank Granger
      Neque enim ingenium sine disciplina aut disciplina sine ingenio perfectum artificem potest efficere.
      For neither talent without instruction nor instruction without talent can produce the perfect craftsman.
  3. mastermind, schemer

Declension

Third-declension noun.

singular plural
nominative artifex artificēs
genitive artificis artificum
dative artificī artificibus
accusative artificem artificēs
ablative artifice artificibus
vocative artifex artificēs

Descendants

  • Catalan: artífex
  • Galician: artífice
  • Italian: artefice
  • Portuguese: artífice
  • Sicilian: artìfici
  • Spanish: artífice

Adjective

artifex (genitive artificis); third-declension one-termination adjective

  1. skilled, artistic
  2. expert
  3. artful, cunning
  4. creative

Declension

Third-declension one-termination adjective.

References

  • artifex”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  • artifex”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
  • "artifex", in Charles du Fresne du Cange’s Glossarium Mediæ et Infimæ Latinitatis (augmented edition with additions by D. P. Carpenterius, Adelungius and others, edited by Léopold Favre, 1883–1887)
  • artifex in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.
  • Carl Meißner, Henry William Auden (1894) Latin Phrase-Book[1], London: Macmillan and Co.
    • an accomplished dialectician: disserendi peritus et artifex
  • artifex in Ramminger, Johann (16 July 2016 (last accessed)) Neulateinische Wortliste: Ein Wörterbuch des Lateinischen von Petrarca bis 1700[2], pre-publication website, 2005-2016