In plural. Certain branches of study, esp. at a university, serving as a preparation for more advanced studies or for later life, spec. (a) (in…

Originally: the seven subjects of the trivium (grammar, rhetoric, and logic) and quadrivium (arithmetic, geometry, music, and astronomy) considered…

Frequently in the humanities. In singular and plural. Literary learning or scholarship; secular letters as opposed to theology; esp. the study of…

The knowledge of the nature of human beings, esp. with regard to spiritual or psychological matters. Also: human knowledge or wisdom. Now rare.

Humanistic studies or writings.

(in plural) those academic subjects in which people or their actions form the object of study, as contrasted with the natural sciences or physical…