artifact Definition

artefact
artifact
noun

1. A handcrafted object, eg a tool, a cave painting, etc, especially one that is historically or archaeologically interesting.
2. Anything that has been manipulated or self-consciously constructed for a specific purpose, especially if it is subsequently shown to be so.

Example: The statistical data was nothing but an election-rigging artefact
3. Something mass-produced and usually cheap.

Example: those nasty touristy artefacts

Etymology: 19c: from Latin arte factum, from ars skill + facere to make.

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artifact artefact