Etymology: < Anglo-Norman and Old French, Middle French art (French art ) means, method, or knowledge employed to gain a certain result, technique (c1000), manner of acting or behaving (c1100), skill (12th cent. in Anglo-Norman), craftsmanship (12th cent. in Anglo-Norman), magic art, magic, sorcery (12th cent. in Anglo-Norman), ruse, artifice (12th cent.), trade, craft, profession (c1200), habit (13th cent. or earlier in Anglo-Norman), knowledge, science, learning (13th cent. or earlier in Anglo-Norman), deceit, guile (13th cent. or earlier in Anglo-Norman), talent, ability (for gaining a particular result) (14th cent.), practice (a1383 or earlier in Anglo-Norman), academic discipline (early 15th cent.), treatise which sets out the principles of a discipline (15th cent.), artistry or technique, as opposed to science (15th cent.), that which is the product of human activity, as opposed to nature (1580), (in plural) the liberal arts (late 14th cent. or earlier; 12th cent. in les set arz the seven arts), the liberal and mechanical arts (a1628), the humanities and philosophy (1636) < classical Latin arti- , ars professional, artistic, or technical skill, craftsmanship, artificial methods, human ingenuity, artificiality, crafty action, trick, stratagem, craftiness, guile, personal characteristic or quality, systematic body of knowledge and practical techniques, magic, one of the fine or liberal arts, profession, craft, trade, task, pursuit, artistic achievement or performance, artistic design or representation, work of art, device, contrivance, rules or principles of an art, treatise, method, system, procedure, principle of classification, in post-classical Latin also guild (from 1380 in British sources) < the same Indo-European base as ancient Greek ἀραρίσκειν to fit together + the Indo-European base of classical Latin -ti- , suffix forming nouns (see -th suffix¹). Compare Old Occitan art (11th cent.), Catalan art (12th cent.), Spanish arte (12th cent.; also †art), Portuguese arte (13th cent.), Italian arte (a1294).Occasional use of the form ars as a singular in Middle English probably shows generalization of the plural form ars (itself after French). In sense 3c probably after Italian arte (14th cent. in this specific sense). With Phrases 1 compare post-classical Latin ars nec pars (13th cent. in British sources). Art originally shared many of its meanings with craft (see craft n. II.); however, by the 17th cent. the association of art with creative or imaginative skill (see sense 7) rather than technical ability tended to result in less semantic overlap between the two words. Especially in sense 3a art is often contrasted with science (see note at science n. 4a), with art now frequently understood (again perhaps reinforced by sense 7) as an ability to adopt a creative or flexible approach, in contrast to the application of more theoretical or scientific principles. From the Middle Ages art has often been contrasted with nature (see sense 12). Compare also the historical sense development of technic adj., technical adj., technology n.

Etymology: Shortened < article n. (as a graphic abbreviation).

Etymology: < Anglo-Norman arter to curb, restrain, restrict (13th cent.), to compel or require (someone by law), to compel (someone to attend), to check, hold back (all 14th cent. or earlier) and its etymon classical Latin artāre, also arctāre to tighten, to restrict, to compress, to pack or crowd together, to make narrow, in post-classical Latin also to compel (3rd cent.; frequently from 12th cent. in British sources), to restrain (4th cent.) < artus close, tight, narrow, confined < the same Indo-European base as ancient Greek ἀραρίσκειν to fit together + the Indo-European base of classical Latin -tus, suffix forming adjectives. Compare Old Occitan artar (15th cent.).

Etymology: < art n.¹