View synonyms for trivium

trivium

[ triv-ee-uhm ]

Phonetic (Standard)IPA

noun

(during the Middle Ages) the lower division of the seven liberal arts, comprising grammar, rhetoric, and logic.

trivium

/ ˈtrɪvɪəm /

(in medieval learning) the lower division of the seven liberal arts, consisting of grammar, rhetoric, and logic Compare quadrivium

Origin of trivium¹

1795–1805; < Medieval Latin, special use of Latin trivium public place, literally, place where three roads meet. See trivial

Origin of trivium¹

C19: from Medieval Latin, from Latin: crossroads; see trivial

These subjects were the Trivium, and the more advanced Quadrivium.

The Trivium was the real basis of the secular education of the period.

The trivium was the most popular course; such knowledge was considered an absolute necessity for any one making claim to culture.

After completing the trivium, those who wished for higher culture studied the quadrivium.

Among the old Romans, a trivium meant a place where three ways met, and a quadrivium where four, or what we now call a cross-road.

Browse