articulate

Concise Oxford English Dictionary © 2008 Oxford University Press:
articulate

▶adjective /ɑːˈtɪkjʊlət/ 

• 1 fluent and clear in speech.

• 2 technical having joints or jointed segments.

  ■ Zoology denoting a brachiopod which has projections and sockets that form a hinge joining the two halves of the shell.

▶verb /ɑːˈtɪkjʊleɪt/ 

• 1 pronounce (words) distinctly.

  ■ clearly express (an idea or feeling).

• 2 form a joint.

  ■ (be articulated) be connected by joints.

– derivatives
articulable adjective,
articulacy noun,
articulated adjective,
articulately adverb,
articulateness noun,
articulatory adjective.

– origin C16: from L. articulat-, articulare ‘divide into joints, utter distinctly’, from articulus (see article).