Liberal \Lib"er*al\ (l[i^]b"[~e]r*al), a. [F. lib['e]ral, L.
   liberalis, from liber free; perh. akin to libet, lubet, it
   pleases, E. lief. Cf. Deliver.]
   1. Free by birth; hence, befitting a freeman or gentleman;
      refined; noble; independent; free; not servile or mean;
      as, a liberal ancestry; a liberal spirit; liberal arts or
      studies. " Liberal education." --Macaulay. " A liberal
      tongue." --Shak.
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   2. Bestowing in a large and noble way, as a freeman;
      generous; bounteous; open-handed; as, a liberal giver. "
      Liberal of praise." --Bacon.
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            Infinitely good, and of his good
            As liberal and free as infinite.      --Milton.
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   3. Bestowed in a large way; hence, more than sufficient;
      abundant; bountiful; ample; profuse; as, a liberal gift; a
      liberal discharge of matter or of water.
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            His wealth doth warrant a liberal dower. --Shak.
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   4. Not strict or rigorous; not confined or restricted to the
      literal sense; free; as, a liberal translation of a
      classic, or a liberal construction of law or of language.
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   5. Not narrow or contracted in mind; not selfish; enlarged in
      spirit; catholic.
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   6. Free to excess; regardless of law or moral restraint;
      licentious. " Most like a liberal villain." --Shak.
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   7. Not bound by orthodox tenets or established forms in
      political or religious philosophy; independent in opinion;
      not conservative; friendly to great freedom in the
      constitution or administration of government; having
      tendency toward democratic or republican, as distinguished
      from monarchical or aristocratic, forms; as, liberal
      thinkers; liberal Christians; the Liberal party.
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            I confess I see nothing liberal in this " order of
            thoughts," as Hobbes elsewhere expresses it.
                                                  --Hazlitt.
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   Note: Liberal has of, sometimes with, before the thing
         bestowed, in before a word signifying action, and to
         before a person or object on which anything is
         bestowed; as, to be liberal of praise or censure;
         liberal with money; liberal in giving; liberal to the
         poor.
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   The liberal arts. See under Art.

   Liberal education, education that enlarges and disciplines
      the mind and makes it master of its own powers,
      irrespective of the particular business or profession one
      may follow.
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   Syn: Generous; bountiful; munificent; beneficent; ample;
        large; profuse; free.

   Usage: Liberal, Generous. Liberal is freeborn, and
          generous is highborn. The former is opposed to the
          ordinary feelings of a servile state, and implies
          largeness of spirit in giving, judging, acting, etc.
          The latter expresses that nobleness of soul which is
          peculiarly appropriate to those of high rank, -- a
          spirit that goes out of self, and finds its enjoyment
          in consulting the feelings and happiness of others.
          Generosity is measured by the extent of the sacrifices
          it makes; liberality, by the warmth of feeling which
          it manifests.
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Art \Art\ ([aum]rt), n. [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.
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            Blest with each grace of nature and of art. --Pope.
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   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.
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            Science is systematized knowledge . . . Art is
            knowledge made efficient by skill.    --J. F.
                                                  Genung.
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   3. The systematic application of knowledge or skill in
      effecting a desired result. Also, an occupation or
      business requiring such knowledge or skill.
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            The fishermen can't employ their art with so much
            success in so troubled a sea.         --Addison.
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   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.
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   5. pl. Those branches of learning which are taught in the
      academical course of colleges; as, master of arts.
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            In fearless youth we tempt the heights of arts.
                                                  --Pope.
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            Four years spent in the arts (as they are called in
            colleges) is, perhaps, laying too laborious a
            foundation.                           --Goldsmith.
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   6. Learning; study; applied knowledge, science, or letters.
      [Archaic]
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            So vast is art, so narrow human wit.  --Pope.
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   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.
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   8. Skillful plan; device.
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            They employed every art to soothe . . . the
            discontented warriors.                --Macaulay.
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   9. Cunning; artifice; craft.
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            Madam, I swear I use no art at all.   --Shak.
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            Animals practice art when opposed to their superiors
            in strength.                          --Crabb.
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   10. The black art; magic. [Obs.] --Shak.
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   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.
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   Note: 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.
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            In America, literature and the elegant arts must
            grow up side by side with the coarser plants of
            daily necessity.                      --Irving.
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   Syn: Science; literature; aptitude; readiness; skill;
        dexterity; adroitness; contrivance; profession;
        business; trade; calling; cunning; artifice; duplicity.
        See Science.
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