art - Wiktionary, the free dictionary

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary

art

1. (international standards) ISO 639-2 & ISO 639-5 language code for artificial languages.

From Middle English art, from Old French art, from Latin artem, accusative of ars (“art”). Partly displaced native Old English cræft, whence Modern English craft.

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ɑːt/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /ɑɹt/

• Rhymes: -ɑː(ɹ)t
• Hyphenation: art

art (countable and uncountable, plural arts)

1. (uncountable) The conscious production or arrangement of sounds, colours, forms, movements, or other elements in a manner that affects the senses and emotions, usually specifically the production of the beautiful in a graphic or plastic medium.

   There is a debate as to whether graffiti is art or vandalism.

   • 1992 May 3, “Comrade Bingo”, in Jeeves and Wooster, Series 3, Episode 6:

     B.W. Wooster: If you ask me, art is responsible for most of the trouble in the world.
     R. Jeeves: An interesting theory, sir. Would you care to expatiate upon it?
     B.W. Wooster: As a matter of fact, no, Jeeves. The thought just occurred to me, as thoughts do.
     R. Jeeves: Very good, sir.

   • 2005 July, Lynn Freed, Harper's:

     "I tell her what Donald Hall says: that the problem with workshops is that they trivialize art by minimizing the terror."

   • 2009, Alexander Brouwer, (Please provide the book title or journal name):

     Visual art is a subjective understanding or perception of the viewer as well as a deliberate/conscious arrangement or creation of elements like colours, forms, movements, sounds, objects or other elements that produce a graphic or plastic whole that expresses thoughts, ideas or visions of the artist.

2. (uncountable) The creative and emotional expression of mental imagery, such as visual, auditory, social, etc.
3. (countable) Skillful creative activity, usually with an aesthetic focus.

   She's mastered the art of programming.

4. (uncountable) The study and the product of these processes.

   He's at university to study art.

5. (uncountable) Aesthetic value.

   Her photographs are nice, but there's no art in them.

6. (uncountable) Artwork.

   Sotheby's regularly auctions art for millions.

   art collection

7. (countable) A field or category of art, such as painting, sculpture, music, ballet, or literature.

   I'm a great supporter of the arts.

8. (countable) A nonscientific branch of learning; one of the liberal arts.

   • 2013 August 3, “Boundary problems”, in The Economist, volume 408, number 8847:

     Economics is a messy discipline: too fluid to be a science, too rigorous to be an art. Perhaps it is fitting that economists’ most-used metric, gross domestic product (GDP), is a tangle too. GDP measures the total value of output in an economic territory. Its apparent simplicity explains why it is scrutinised down to tenths of a percentage point every month.

10. (countable) Skill that is attained by study, practice, or observation.

    • 1796, Matthew Lewis, The Monk, Folio Society, published 1985, page 217:

      A physician was immediately sent for; but on the first moment of beholding the corpse, he declared that Elvira's recovery was beyond the power of art.

    • 1855, Harriet Martineau's translation, The Positive Philosophy of Auguste Comte Vol. 1, Introduction, Ch. 2, page 21, from Auguste Comte, Cours de philosophie positive (1830–1842)

      The relation of science to art may be summed up in a brief expression: From Science comes Prevision: from Prevision comes Action.

    • 1897 December (indicated as 1898), Winston Churchill, chapter IV, in The Celebrity: An Episode, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company; London: Macmillan & Co., Ltd., →OCLC, page 58:

      The Celebrity, by arts unknown, induced Mrs. Judge Short and two other ladies to call at Mohair on a certain afternoon when Mr. Cooke was trying a trotter on the track. The three returned wondering and charmed with Mrs. Cooke; they were sure she had had no hand in the furnishing of that atrocious house.

    • 1983 December 3, “Personal advertisement”, in Gay Community News, volume 11, number 20, page 21:

      Let's make sandwiches out of colored paper and teach people how to listen. Listening is a social art and we had best hang on to it. A tape recording stuck in your ear won't do.

11. (uncountable, dated) Contrivance, scheming, manipulation.

    • 1817 December, Percy Bysshe Shelley, “The Revolt of Islam. […]”, in [Mary] Shelley, editor, The Poetical Works of Percy Bysshe Shelley. […], volume I, London: Edward Moxon […], published 1839, →OCLC, page 222:

      it was not art,
      Of wisdom and of justice when he spoke—
      When ’mid soft looks of pity, there would dart
      A glance as keen as is the lightning’s stroke
      When it doth rive the knots of some ancestral oak.

    • 1847 December, Ellis Bell [pseudonym; Emily Brontë], chapter VI, in Wuthering Heights: […], volume I, London: Thomas Cautley Newby, […], →OCLC, page 112:

      [...] and Mrs. Earnshaw undertook to keep her sister-in-law in due restraint, when she returned home employing art, not force—with force she would have found it impossible.

• (Human effort): craft

• (antonym(s) of “Human effort”): mundacity, nature, subsistence

• English terms starting with “art”

• Jamaican Creole: aat
• Tok Pisin: at
• → Japanese: アート (āto)

From Middle English art, from Old English eart (“(thou) art”), second-person singular present indicative of wesan, from Proto-Germanic *art (“(thou) art", originally, "(thou) becamest”), second-person singular preterite indicative form of *iraną (“to rise, be quick, become active”), from Proto-Indo-European *er-, *or(w)- (“to lift, rise, set in motion”).

Cognate with Faroese ert (“art”), Icelandic ert (“art”), Old English earon (“are”), from the same preterite-present Germanic verb. More at are.

(stressed)

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ɑːt/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /ɑɹt/

(unstressed)

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ət/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /əɹt/

art

1. (archaic) second-person singular simple present indicative of be

   How great thou art!

• “art”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.
• "art" in Raymond Williams, Keywords (revised), 1983, Fontana Press, page 40.
• art in Keywords for Today: A 21st Century Vocabulary, edited by The Keywords Project, Colin MacCabe, Holly Yanacek, 2018.
• William Dwight Whitney, Benjamin E[li] Smith, editors (1911), “art”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., →OCLC.
• Hickey, Raymond (1984) “Coronal Segments in Irish English”, in Journal of Linguistics, volume 20, number 2, →DOI, pages 233–250

• Tar, RAT, TRA, ATR, TAR, RTA, rat, rta, tra, 'rat, tar, Rat

Learned borrowing from Latin ars, artem.

art m (definite arti)

1. art

• zeje

• FGJSSH: Fjalor i gjuhës së sotme shqipe [Dictionary of the modern Albanian language]‎^[2], 1980
• Newmark, L. (1999) “art”, in Oxford Albanian-English Dictionary‎^[3]
• “art”, in FGJSH: Fjalor i gjuhës shqipe [Dictionary of the Albanian language] (in Albanian), 2006

From Latin artem.

• IPA^(key): (Central, Balearic) [ˈart]
• IPA^(key): (Valencia) [ˈaɾt]
• Rhymes: -aɾt

art m or f (plural arts)

1. art (something pleasing to the mind)

• Generally masculine in the singular, feminine in the plural.

art m (plural arts)

1. fishing net

• artet

• bou
• xarxa

• “art” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.
• “art”, in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana, 2025
• “art” in Diccionari normatiu valencià, Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua.
• “art” in Diccionari català-valencià-balear, Antoni Maria Alcover and Francesc de Borja Moll, 1962.

From Latin ars (“art”).

• IPA^(key): [ɒɹt]

art m (plural artys)

1. art

art

1. back

   Synonyms: arqa, sırt

From Middle Low German art, from Old Saxon *ard, from Proto-Germanic *ardiz, cognate with German Art.

• IPA^(key): [ˈɑˀd̥]
• Homophone: ard

art c (singular definite arten, plural indefinite arter)

1. kind
2. nature
3. species

• → Icelandic: art

From Latin artem, accusative singular of ars.

• IPA^(key): /aʁ/

art m (plural arts)

1. art

• artifice
• artificiel
• artisan
• artiste

• Haitian Creole: la (< l'art)
• Icelandic: art (f)

• “art”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

• rat

First attested in the 1600s. Borrowed from Danish or Middle High German art, both from Middle Low German ārt, from Old Saxon *ard, from Proto-Germanic *ardiz (“nature, quality, characteristic”). The sense "art" is a borrowing from French art, which is a distant cognate.

Compare Norwegian Bokmål, Norwegian Nynorsk, and Swedish art. Doublet of arður.

• IPA^(key): /art/
• Rhymes: -art

art f (genitive singular artar, nominative plural artir)

1. (dated) nature, character, disposition [First attested in the 1500s]

   Synonym: náttúrufar (n)

   það var svo góð art í honum að hann talaði aldrei nema vel um fólk á bak

   He had such a good nature that he never spoke unkindly about people behind their backs.

2. wellbeing, growth

   Synonym: þrif (n) [First attested in the 1500s]

   það er engin art í grasinu

   the grass is not thriving.

3. (obsolete) type [First attested in the 1500s]
4. (obsolete) art

• Ásgeir Blöndal Magnússon (1989) Íslensk orðsifjabók, Reykjavík: Árni Magnússon Institute for Icelandic Studies, →ISBN (Available at Málið.is under the “Eldri orðabækur” tab.)
• Kristín Bjarnadóttir, editor (2002–2025), “art”, in Beygingarlýsing íslensks nútímamáls [The Database of Modern Icelandic Inflection] (in Icelandic), Reykjavík: The Árni Magnússon Institute for Icelandic Studies
• Mörður Árnason (2019) Íslensk orðabók, 5th edition, Reykjavík: Forlagið
• “art” in the Dictionary of Modern Icelandic (in Icelandic) and ISLEX (in the Nordic languages)

From Old Irish art, explained in glossaries as “stone”.

art m (genitive singular airt, nominative plural airt)

1. stone

• chomh marbh le hart (“stone dead”)

• Ó Dónaill, Niall (1977) “art”, in Foclóir Gaeilge–Béarla, Dublin: An Gúm, →ISBN
• Gregory Toner, Sharon Arbuthnot, Máire Ní Mhaonaigh, Marie-Luise Theuerkauf, Dagmar Wodtko, editors (2019), “art”, in eDIL: Electronic Dictionary of the Irish Language

From Proto-Baltic [Term?], from Proto-Indo-European *h₂erh₃- (“to plow”), from *h₁er- (“sparse; to crumble, to fall to pieces”), whence also the verb irt; see there for more.

Cognates include Lithuanian árti, Old Prussian artoys (“plowman”) (compare Lithuanian artójas), Old Church Slavonic орати (orati), Russian dialectal or dated ора́ть (orátʹ), Belarusian ара́ць (arácʹ), Ukrainian ора́ти (oráty), Bulgarian ора́ (orá), Czech orati, Polish orać, Gothic 𐌰𐍂𐌾𐌰𐌽 (arjan), Old Norse erja, Hittite [Term?] (/⁠ẖarra-⁠/, “to crush; (passive form) to disappear”), [Term?] (/⁠ẖarš-⁠/, “to tear open; to plow”), Ancient Greek ἀρόω (aróō), Latin arō.^[1]

• IPA^(key): [âɾt]

art (transitive, 1st conjugation, present aru, ar, ar, past aru)

1. to plow (to prepare (land) for sowing by using a plow)

   art zemi ― to plow the land, earth

   art tīrumu, lauku ― to plow a field

   art dārzu ― to plow a garden

   art kūdraino augsni ― to plow the peaty soil

   art ar traktoru ― to plow with a tractor

   papuvi ara divi traktori ― two tractors plowed the fallow (land)

   iziet art agri no rīta ― to go plowing early in the morning

   rudenī, rugāju arot, sekoju Jurim pa vagu un sarunājos ― in autumn, while (he was) plowing the stubble field, I followed Juris along the furrows and talked

• ard (obsolete)

From Arabic أَرْض (ʔarḍ).

• IPA^(key): /art/
• IPA^(key): /aːrt/ (variant, as if spelt *għart)

art f (plural artijiet or (obsolete) iradi)

1. earth (our planet)

   Synonym: dinja

2. land, ground, soil

   • 1949, Anton Buttigieg, “Il-Ġebla tal-Ġeneral”, in Fanali bil-Lejl:

     u lili firdu minn mal-art għal dejjem,
     u jien sfajt blata u gżira l-aktar ċkejkna,
     bi ftit faqqiegħ u ftit gremxul sewdieni
     ngħix ħajja waħdi.

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)

3. homeland

   art twelidi ― my homeland

   bla art ― without a homeland

From Old English eart, second person singular of wesan (“to be”), from Proto-Germanic *art, second person singular of *iraną.

• eart, ert

• IPA^(key): /art/

art

2. second-person singular present indicative of been

This form is more common than bist for the second-person singular.

• English: art (archaic, dialectal)
• Yola: yarth, yart

Borrowed from Old French art, from Latin artem, accusative form of ars, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂r̥tís.

• aart, arte

• IPA^(key): /art/, (Northern) /aːrt/

art (plural artes or ars)

2. A member of the seven medieval liberal arts (the trivium and quadrivium).
3. The seven medieval liberal arts as a group; the trivium and quadrivium combined.
4. The foundational knowledge and activities of a field or subject (either academic or trade).
5. Applied or practical knowledge; the execution or realisation of knowledge.
6. Guile, craft or an instance of it; the use of deception or sleight-of hand.
7. Competency, skill; one's aptitude or ability in a given area or at a given task.
8. A set of rules or guidelines for conducting oneself; a code of conduct.
9. (rare) Knowledge, information; the set of things which one has learned about (through formal study).
10. (rare) Rhetoric; skill in oration, argument, speech, or speaking.
11. (rare) Human behaviour or action (as opposed to natural happenings).

• English: art
• Scots: airt

• “art, n.(1).”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.

From Old English eard, from Proto-West Germanic *ard, from Proto-Germanic *ardiz (“nature; type”). Doublet of erd (“nature, disposition”).

art

2. (Northern) district, locality

• Scots: airt
• Yola: ete

• “art, n.(2).”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.

Inherited from Old French art.

art m (plural ars)

1. art

   • 15th century, Rustichello da Pisa (original author), Mazarine Master (scribe), The Travels of Marco Polo, page 15, lines 7–8:

     Il y a de toutes choses habondance, et ils vivent de marchandise et d'art.

     There is an abundance of everything and they make a living from merchandise and from art

• French: art
  • Haitian Creole: la (< l'art)
  • Icelandic: art (f)

art f or m (definite singular arta or arten, indefinite plural arter, definite plural artene)

1. character, nature, kind
2. (biology) a species

• “art” in The Bokmål Dictionary.

• rat, tar

art m or f (definite singular arten or arta, indefinite plural artar or arter, definite plural artane or artene)

1. (biology) a species
2. character, nature, kind

• ard

• “art” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.

• rat, tar

From Latin ars.

art m (plural arts)

1. art

• artista

From Latin artem, accusative of ars.

art oblique singular, m or f (oblique plural arz or artz, nominative singular arz or artz, nominative plural art)

1. art (skill; practice; method)
   • (Can we date this quote?) Walter of Bibbesworth: Le Tretiz, ed. W. Rothwell, ANTS Plain Texts Series 6, 1990. Date of cited text: circa 1250

     ore serroit a saver de l’art a bresser & brasyr

     Now would be the time to know the art of brewing

• Middle French: art
  • French: art
    • Haitian Creole: la (< l'art)
    • Icelandic: art (f)
• Norman: art
• Walloon: årt
• → Middle English: art
  • English: art
    • Jamaican Creole: aat
    • Tok Pisin: at
    • → Japanese: アート (āto)
  • Scots: airt

• Godefroy, Frédéric, Dictionnaire de l’ancienne langue française et de tous ses dialectes du IX^e au XV^e siècle (1881) (art, supplement)
• art on the Anglo-Norman On-Line Hub
• Etymology and history of “art”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

Inherited from Proto-Celtic *artos, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂ŕ̥tḱos. Compare Cornish arth, Welsh arth.

• IPA^(key): [ar͈t]

art m

1. bear

   Synonym: mathgamain

• argt
• ragt — with metathesis

art

1. strong neuter nominative/accusative singular of argr

From Old Swedish art, from Middle Low German art, from Old Saxon *ard, from Proto-Germanic *ardiz (“character, nature, inborn quality”).

art c

1. species

• art in Svenska Akademiens ordbok (SAOB)

• tar

From Ottoman Turkish آرت (art), آرد (ard) from Proto-Turkic *hārt (“back”). Cognate with Turkish arka.

• IPA^(key): /ˈaɾt/

art

1. hind, rear

   art tekerler ― rear wheels

• arka

art (definite accusative ardı, plural artlar)

1. back

   Ardına bakmadan kaçtı.

   He ran away without looking "at his back".

2. the other side

• arka