Articulate spirit, or spirits (5)
I believe the answer is:
djinn
'spirits' is the definition.
(I know this)
'articulate spirit' is the wordplay.
'articulate' indicates a 'sounds like' (homophone) clue (articulated or said out loud).
'spirit' becomes 'gin' (alcoholic spirit).
'gin' sounds like 'DJINN'.
'or' acts as a link.
(Other definitions for djinn that I've seen before include "Spirits (in Muslim mythology)" , "Mythological spirit" , "Spirit of Arabian legend" , "Spirit of Arabian mythology" .)