| 释义 |
‖ quadrivium|kwəˈdrɪvɪəm|
[L. (f. quadri- quadri- + via way), a place where four ways meet; in late L., the four branches of mathematics (Boethius).]
In the Middle Ages, the higher division of the seven liberal arts, comprising the mathematical sciences (arithmetic, geometry, astronomy, and music).
1804Rankin Hist. France III. iv. 308 Arithmetic, music, geometry, and astronomy formed Quadrivium. 1842Mrs. Browning Grk. Chr. Poets (1863) 123 The trivium and quadrivium of the schools. 1872Lowell Dante Pr. Wks. 1890 IV. 124 There can be no doubt that he went through the trivium..and the quadrivium..of the then ordinary university course. |