I.
Etymology: Middle English art, ert, from Old English eart; akin to Old Norse est, ert, (thou) art, Gothic is, Latin es, Greek essi, Sanskrit asi, Old English is is — more at is
archaic
present second singular of be
II. ˈärt, ˈȧt, usu -d.+V noun
( -s )
Usage: often attributive
Etymology: Middle English, from Old French, from Latin art-, ars — more at arm
1.
a. : the power of performing certain actions especially as acquired by experience, study, or observation : skill , dexterity
there's an art to tightrope walking
b.
(1) : skill in the adaptation of things in the natural world to the uses of human life : human contrivance or ingenuity
are these chipped stones the product of art
(2) obsolete : technical skill often as though aided by magic
2. : a branch of learning:
a. : one of the humanities traditionally including history, philosophy, literature, languages, and the fine arts
the College of Arts and Sciences
b. arts plural : the liberal arts
bachelor of arts
c. archaic : learning , scholarship
3.
a. : an occupation or business requiring knowledge or skill : craft
b. : an organization of men practicing a craft or trade
the art of Wool, that is, … the corporation of the dealers in wool — C.E.Norton
c. : the general principles of any branch of learning or of any developed craft : a system of rules or of organized modes of operation serving to facilitate the performance of certain actions
the art of building
the art of engraving
the art of navigation
d. : systematic application of knowledge or skill in effecting a desired result
4.
a. : application of skill and taste to production according to aesthetic principles : the conscious use of skill, taste, and creative imagination in the practical definition or production of beauty
b. : the product of skill and taste applied according to aesthetic principles : expression of beauty : works of art
an art gallery
5.
a. archaic : a skillful plan or device
employed every art to soothe the discontented — T.B.Macaulay
b. : cunning , artifice
I swear I use no art at all — Shakespeare
she owes her wavy hair to art rather than to nature
c. : artificial and studied behavior
arts that allure, the magic nod and wink — Robert Browning
6.
a. : the craft of the artist ; specifically : the technical devices used by a painter regarded especially as a subject of study
b. : a method or device that produces an artistic effect or is used for decorative purposes
art needlework
7.
a. : fine arts
b. : one of the fine arts
c. : a plastic art
d. : a graphic art
e. : painting
8. : decorative or illustrative elements in printed matter as distinguished from the text or other parts printed from standard alphabetic types ; especially : the illustrative material of a newspaper or periodical
Synonyms:
skill , cunning , artifice , craft , art can mean, in common, the faculty, usually expert, of performing or executing what is planned or devised. skill stresses technical knowledge, proficiency, or expertness
a first-rate specimen of the composer's art, the interpreter's skill and the engineer's craft — Herbert Weinstock
dentistry as a skill alone is limited at present largely to repair and restoration — J.B.Conant
varying skill and thoroughness in the detection of crime — Havelock Ellis
a skilled toolmaker
cunning may emphasize special, often tricky, inventive or creative power
the cunning and consummate artistry by which he has achieved certain effects — J.D.Adams
his unerring eye and his incomparable cunning of hand … a most able painter — Laurence Binyon
a scout whose cunning exceeded that of the Indian — American Guide Series: Arizona
artifice can stress skill or intelligence in contriving or devising, but usually stresses at the same time a certain lack of true creative power, a certain artificiality
what amazing artifice is found under that apparently straightforward tale — A.T.Quiller-Couch
no matter what skill is displayed toward objectifying fiction, the omniscience of the author is naturally assumed … but such is artifice that it attempts to conceal this basic convention — Robert Humphrey
he heightened the artifice of this style — its inversions, its verbal encrustation, its complexity of syntax, yet combined it with the natural speech rhythms and homely idioms — C.D.Lewis
craft can suggest ingenuity and subtlety in workmanship or trickery or guile; applied to a skilled pursuit or vocation, it may suggest a lower type of skill or inventive power joined with mastery of materials and technique but lacking true creative force or quality
professional writers who take their craft seriously — M.D.Geismar
small teams of dressmakers, each of them a mistress of her craft — Choice of Careers: Dressmaking
no great artist but a master of his craft
art is the most variable of these words in meaning, often interchangeable with, often contrasting with, the others: its significant weight can fall upon recondite, inventive, or creative power
the rare art of the alchemist or witch doctor
It can, like skill , suggest proficiency or expertness
the shoemaker's art
arts such as medicine, husbandry — Benjamin Farrington
or, like craft , or, rarely, like artifice , can point to skill, ingenuity, and inventiveness in contriving even though the act or result lacks any true creative force or quality
handmade tools, utensils, and furniture of the premachine age, … are interesting as art because of skillful handling of materials — American Guide Series: Michigan
practicing their arts as masons, brickmakers, carpenters, leather dressers — American Guide Series: Maryland
to gain an end by one art or another
But more frequently and in its most distinct sense art contrasts with skill , artifice , and craft in putting stress upon something more, in implying a personal, unanalyzable creative force that transmits and raises the art or product beyond a skill, artifice, or craft though it may involve the essential elements of all of these
to turn from the mere skill of figurine making to the art of sculpture
most of the symbolic details are examples of artifice rather than of art — R.M.Kain
so much English acting which is very fine … is so satisfactory as craft and so limited as art — H.E.Clurman
III. adjective
1. : composed or created with conscious artistry — opposed to folk
an art ballad
an art song
2. : designed for decorative purposes or to produce an artistic effect
art pottery
IV. abbreviation
1. article
2. artificial
3. artillery
4. artist