liberal arts
plural noun
1
: college or university studies (such as language, philosophy, literature, 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
Did you know?
Why do we call the liberal arts "liberal"?
The liberal in liberal arts, a cornerstone of the education of so many, has very little to do with political leanings; 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 freeman and members of the upper classes, and involved training in the mind (grammar, logic, geometry, etc.). The lower classes were educated in the servile arts, which were mechanical or occupational in nature. The phrase liberal arts has been part of our language for a very long time, with use dating back to the 14th century.
Example Sentences
Recent Examples on the Web Lewis and Clark College is a private liberal arts college in Portland. 
Stephen Sorace, Fox News, 30 Aug. 2022 Driver stars as Jack Gladney, a professor of Hitler studies at a Midwest liberal arts college. Ej Panaligan, Variety, 25 Aug. 2022 The nutshell: Six friends at a small liberal arts college in Vermont commit murder. Lauren Daley, BostonGlobe.com, 24 Aug. 2022 Baker has a bachelor’s of fine art degree in photography from Indiana State University, and is working toward a master’s of liberal arts degree in journalism from Harvard. Sean P. Means, The Salt Lake Tribune, 10 May 2022 The alleged false statements included having a liberal arts degree from a Virginia university. From Usa Today Network And Wire Reports, USA TODAY, 19 Apr. 2022 Bull led the private liberal arts college from 1992 to 2005 and helped usher Linfield into the digital age, the school said in an announcement of her passing. oregonlive, 16 Aug. 2022 In 2014, when both were 22 years old and new graduates of Denison University — a liberal arts college 30 minutes east of Columbus, Ohio — Segev and Dixon took to Columbus to relish in the city’s arts culture. Jaelani Turner-williams, SPIN, 6 July 2022 On Instagram over the weekend, the Jolie revealed that her daughter Zahara, 17, is going to Spelman College, a historically Black liberal arts college in Atlanta, Georgia. Carrie Wittmer, Glamour, 1 Aug. 2022 See More
Stephen Sorace, Fox News, 30 Aug. 2022 Driver stars as Jack Gladney, a professor of Hitler studies at a Midwest liberal arts college. Ej Panaligan, Variety, 25 Aug. 2022 The nutshell: Six friends at a small liberal arts college in Vermont commit murder. Lauren Daley, BostonGlobe.com, 24 Aug. 2022 Baker has a bachelor’s of fine art degree in photography from Indiana State University, and is working toward a master’s of liberal arts degree in journalism from Harvard. Sean P. Means, The Salt Lake Tribune, 10 May 2022 The alleged false statements included having a liberal arts degree from a Virginia university. From Usa Today Network And Wire Reports, USA TODAY, 19 Apr. 2022 Bull led the private liberal arts college from 1992 to 2005 and helped usher Linfield into the digital age, the school said in an announcement of her passing. oregonlive, 16 Aug. 2022 In 2014, when both were 22 years old and new graduates of Denison University — a liberal arts college 30 minutes east of Columbus, Ohio — Segev and Dixon took to Columbus to relish in the city’s arts culture. Jaelani Turner-williams, SPIN, 6 July 2022 On Instagram over the weekend, the Jolie revealed that her daughter Zahara, 17, is going to Spelman College, a historically Black liberal arts college in Atlanta, Georgia. Carrie Wittmer, Glamour, 1 Aug. 2022 See More Word History
First Known Use
14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 2