trivium

American  

[triv-ee-uhm] / ˈtrɪv i əm /

noun

1. (during the Middle Ages) the lower division of the seven liberal arts, comprising grammar, rhetoric, and logic.

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trivium British  

/ ˈtrɪvɪəm /

noun

1. (in medieval learning) the lower division of the seven liberal arts, consisting of grammar, rhetoric, and logic Compare quadrivium

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Etymology

Origin of trivium

1795–1805; < Medieval Latin, special use of Latin trivium public place, literally, place where three roads meet. See trivial

Example Sentences

The three arts of the trivium relate to the mind, and the four of the quadrivium to matter.

From "Words Like Loaded Pistols" by Sam Leith

She went on to write a PhD dissertation on the effect of formal rhetoric on Shakespeare’s language, and remained an evangelist for the use of the trivium in education.

From "Words Like Loaded Pistols" by Sam Leith

Progress in wisdom was to be obtained, so far as secular knowledge was concerned, by the “seven ascents of theoretical discipline,” i.e. the trivium and the quadrivium.

From Education in England in the Middle Ages Thesis Approved for the Degree of Doctor of Science in the University of London by Parry, Albert William

The schools were at first held publicly in shops; hence the name trivium.

From Pedagogics as a System by Brackett, Anna C. (Anna Callender)

The regular list of studies that came to be adopted everywhere comprised seven nominal branches, divided into two groups—the so-called quadrivium, comprising music, arithmetic, geometry, and astronomy; and the trivium comprising grammar, rhetoric, and logic.

From A History of Science — Volume 2 by Williams, Henry Smith