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Webster 1913 Edition


Art

Art

(ärt)
.
The second person singular, indicative mode, present tense, of the substantive verb
Be
; but formed after the analogy of the plural are, with the ending -t, as in thou shalt, wilt, orig. an ending of the second person sing. pret. Cf.
Be
. Now used only in solemn or poetical style.

Art

(ärt)
,
Noun.
[F.
art
, L.
ars
,
artis
, orig., skill in joining or fitting; prob. akin to E.
arm
,
aristocrat
,
article
.]
1.
The employment of means to accomplish some desired end; the adaptation of things in the natural world to the uses of life; the application of knowledge or power to practical purposes.
Blest with each grace of nature and of
art
.
Pope.
2.
A system of rules serving to facilitate the performance of certain actions; a system of principles and rules for attaining a desired end; method of doing well some special work; – often contradistinguished from science or speculative principles;
as, the
art
of building or engraving; the
art
of war; the
art
of navigation.
Science is systematized knowledge . . . Art is knowledge made efficient by skill.
J. F. Genung.
3.
The systematic application of knowledge or skill in effecting a desired result. Also, an occupation or business requiring such knowledge or skill.
The fishermen can’t employ their
art
with so much success in so troubled a sea.
Addison.
4.
The application of skill to the production of the beautiful by imitation or design, or an occupation in which skill is so employed, as in painting and sculpture; one of the fine arts;
as, he prefers
art
to literature
.
5.
pl.
Those branches of learning which are taught in the academical course of colleges;
as, master of
arts
.
In fearless youth we tempt the heights of
arts
.
Pope.
Four years spent in the
arts
(as they are called in colleges) is, perhaps, laying too laborious a foundation.
Goldsmith.
6.
Learning; study; applied knowledge, science, or letters.
[Archaic]
So vast is
art
, so narrow human wit.
Pope.
7.
Skill, dexterity, or the power of performing certain actions, acquired by experience, study, or observation; knack;
as, a man has the
art
of managing his business to advantage
.
8.
Skillful plan; device.
They employed every
art
to soothe . . . the discontented warriors.
Macaulay.
9.
Cunning; artifice; craft.
Madam, I swear I use no
art
at all.
Shakespeare
Animals practice
art
when opposed to their superiors in strength.
Crabb.
10.
The black art; magic.
[Obs.]
Shak.
Art and part
(Scots Law)
,
share or concern by aiding and abetting a criminal in the perpetration of a crime, whether by advice or by assistance in the execution; complicity.
☞ The arts are divided into various classes.
The useful arts
,
The mechanical arts
, or
The industrial arts
are those in which the hands and body are more concerned than the mind; as in making clothes and utensils. These are called trades.
The fine arts
are those which have primarily to do with imagination and taste, and are applied to the production of what is beautiful. They include poetry, music, painting, engraving, sculpture, and architecture; but the term is often confined to painting, sculpture, and architecture.
The liberal arts
(artes liberales, the higher arts, which, among the Romans, only freemen were permitted to pursue) were, in the Middle Ages, these seven branches of learning, – grammar, logic, rhetoric, arithmetic, geometry, music, and astronomy. In modern times the liberal arts include the sciences, philosophy, history, etc., which compose the course of academical or collegiate education. Hence, degrees in the arts; master and bachelor of arts.
In America, literature and the elegant
arts
must grow up side by side with the coarser plants of daily necessity.
Irving.
Syn. – Science; literature; aptitude; readiness; skill; dexterity; adroitness; contrivance; profession; business; trade; calling; cunning; artifice; duplicity. See
Science
.

Webster 1828 Edition


Art

'ART

, The second person, indicative mode, present tense, of the substantive veb am.

Definition 2024


árt

árt

See also: art, Art, ART, ärt, 'art, -art, art., and Appendix:Variations of "art"

Hungarian

Verb

árt

  1. (transitive) to harm, hurt someone

Conjugation

Derived terms

(With verbal prefixes):