liberal arts

plural noun

1
: college or university studies (such as language, philosophy, literature, and abstract science) intended to provide chiefly general knowledge and to develop general intellectual capacities (such as reason and judgment) as opposed to professional or vocational skills
2
: the medieval studies comprising the trivium and quadrivium

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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

Recent Examples on the Web It’s really laid out like a private, four-year liberal arts college. Darren Sabedra, The Mercury News, 14 Mar. 2024 The public liberal arts institution has about 3,200 students − roughly a third of the size of UW-La Crosse's 10,000-student campus. Kelly Meyerhofer, Journal Sentinel, 13 Mar. 2024 Located in Michigan's southern Lenawee County, Adrian College is a private liberal arts college affiliated with the United Methodist Church. Detroit Free Press, 13 Mar. 2024 Changed majors were more common for students originally concentrating on liberal arts and sciences, general studies and humanities (82%) than for those majoring in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) fields (61.7%). Michael T. Nietzel, Forbes, 28 Feb. 2024 Grinnell, a private liberal arts college in Iowa, works with families to calculate the whole cost of attending, said Brad Lindberg, the college’s associate vice president of institutional initiatives and enrollment. USA TODAY, 11 Jan. 2024 First and foremost, students should strive to visit different types of campuses—urban and rural, large and small, liberal arts and research institutions, etc. Christopher Rim, Forbes, 19 Feb. 2024 But the numbers don’t mean that the four-year liberal arts degree has made a comeback. Irina Ivanova, Fortune, 24 Jan. 2024 Following his retirement from the post, Canadian philanthropist Blake Goldring donated $1,000,000 to Victoria University (formerly College) to start a first-year liberal arts program in Jewison’s name. Tomás Mier, Rolling Stone, 22 Jan. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'liberal arts.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Time Traveler
The first known use of liberal arts was in the 14th century

Dictionary Entries Near liberal arts

Cite this Entry

“Liberal arts.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/liberal%20arts. Accessed 28 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

liberal arts

noun plural
: the studies (as literature, philosophy, languages, or history) in a college or university intended to develop the mind in a general way rather than give professional or vocational skills

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