liberal arts
plural noun
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Why do we call the liberal arts "liberal"?
The liberal in liberal arts is not political. Its roots can be traced to the Latin word liber, meaning “free, unrestricted.” Our language took the term from the Latin liberales artes, which described the education given to members of the upper classes as well as to those with the full rights of a citizen; this education involved training in such subjects as grammar, logic, geometry, etc., as opposed to the education reserved for the lower classes, which involved mechanical or occupational skills. The phrase liberal arts has been part of our language for a very long time, with use dating back to the 14th century.
Examples of liberal arts in a Sentence
Sydney Franklin, The Enquirer, 13 July 2025
Billion-dollar donation span a landscape from small liberal arts McPherson College to Stanford and Johns Hopkins.
—Peter Balakian
july 9, Literary Hub, 9 July 2025
The University of the South is a liberal arts college and Episcopal seminary located on a 13,000-acre campus atop the Cumberland Plateau in Tennessee.
—Greg Evans, Deadline, 8 July 2025
White, too, noted efforts going on in the diocese meant to boost enrollment — for example, adding liberal arts or performing arts tracks at diocesan schools, and raising money for tuition assistance to help children in underserved communities attend Catholic schools.
—Molly Morrow, Chicago Tribune, 7 July 2025
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Cite this Entry
“Liberal arts.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/liberal%20arts. Accessed 18 Jul. 2025.
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