trivium

American  

[triv-ee-uhm] / ˈtrɪv i əm /

noun

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

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trivium British  

/ ˈtrɪvɪəm /

noun

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

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Etymology

Origin of trivium

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

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

trivium

The three arts of the trivium relate to the mind, and the four of the quadrivium to matter.

From "Words Like Loaded Pistols" by Sam Leith

She went on to write a PhD dissertation on the effect of formal rhetoric on Shakespeare’s language, and remained an evangelist for the use of the trivium in education.

From "Words Like Loaded Pistols" by Sam Leith

So that so far as Europe goes, one may very well regard this modern modern-language teaching as—with the modern mathematics—an extension of the trivium, of the apparatus, that is, of thought and expression.

From Mankind in the Making by H. G. (Herbert George) Wells

The schools were at first held publicly in shops; hence the name trivium.

From Pedagogics as a System by Anna C. (Anna Callender) Brackett

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

From History of Education by Levi Seeley

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