Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

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.

   2. Bestowing in a large and noble way, as a freeman;
      generous; bounteous; open-handed; as, a liberal giver. ``
      Liberal of praise.'' --Bacon.

            Infinitely good, and of his good As liberal and free
            as infinite.                          --Milton.

   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.

            His wealth doth warrant a liberal dower. --Shak.

   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.

   5. Not narrow or contracted in mind; not selfish; enlarged in
      spirit; catholic.

   6. Free to excess; regardless of law or moral restraint;
      licentious. `` Most like a liberal villain.'' --Shak.

   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.

            I confess I see nothing liberal in this `` order of
            thoughts,'' as Hobbes elsewhere expresses it.
                                                  --Hazlitt.

   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.

   {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.

   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.

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.

            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.   --Shak.

            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.

   Note: The arts are divided into various classes.

   {The useful, mechanical, or 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}.