liberal arts

plural noun

1. the academic course of instruction at a college intended to provide general knowledge and comprising the arts, humanities, natural sciences, and social sciences, as opposed to professional or technical subjects.
2. (during the Middle Ages) studies comprising the quadrivium and trivium, including arithmetic, geometry, astronomy, music, grammar, rhetoric, and logic.

liberal arts

plural noun

1. the fine arts, humanities, sociology, languages, and literature Often shortened toarts

liberal arts

¹

1. The areas of learning that cultivate general intellectual ability rather than technical or professional skills. The term liberal arts is often used as a synonym for humanities, although the liberal arts also include the sciences. The word liberal comes from the Latin liberalis , meaning suitable for a free man, as opposed to a slave.

liberal arts

²

1. The areas of learning that cultivate general intellectual ability rather than technical or professional skills. Liberal arts is often used as a synonym for humanities, because literature, languages, history, and philosophy are often considered the primary subjects of the liberal arts. The term liberal arts originally meant arts suitable for free people ( libri in Latin ) but not for slaves.

Word History and Origins

Origin of liberal arts¹

First recorded in 1745–55; translation of Latin artēs līberālēs “works befitting a free person,” literally, “skills of freedom”

Example Sentences

Priorities: I would increase interest in liberal arts.

From Los Angeles Times

Harrison Butker, the placekicker for the Kansas City Chiefs, went viral after he delivered a commencement address to a Catholic liberal arts school.

From Salon

How did this hardcore East Coast liberal arts major end up in this backwater working at a Costco?

From Los Angeles Times

During the decade prior to the deadly disruption of COVID, the National Center for Education Statistics recorded a precipitous decline of nearly 30% in students majoring in liberal arts and humanities.

From Los Angeles Times

The zero-emission train represents an environmental transportation coup for the private liberal arts college, which boasts Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design green building standards.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• mathematics