The Collaborative International Dictionary
Quadrivium \Quad*riv"i*um\, n. [L.] The four ``liberal arts,'' arithmetic, music, geometry, and astronomy; -- so called by the schoolmen. See Trivium.
Douglas Harper's Etymology Dictionary
"arithmetic, music, geometry, astronomy," 1804 (see liberal arts), from Latin quadrivium, which meant "place where four roads meet, crossroads," from quadri- "four" (see quadri-) + via "way, road, channel, course" (see via). The adjective quadrivial is attested from late 15c. in English with the sense "having four roads."
Wiktionary
n. The higher division of the seven liberal arts in the Middle Ages, composed of geometry, astronomy, arithmetic, and music.
Wikipedia
The quadrivium (plural: quadrivia) are the four subjects, or arts, taught after teaching the trivium. The word is Latin, meaning "the four ways" (or a "place where four roads meet"),
The word "quadrivium" indicates a 4-way intersection (as in
a "4-way stop"), while "trivium" refers to a 3-way junction.
and its use for the four subjects has been attributed to Boethius or Cassiodorus in the 6th century.
"Part I: The Age of Augustine", ND.edu, 2010, webpage:
ND205.
"quadrivium (education)", Britannica Online, 2011, web:
EB.
Together, the trivium and the quadrivium comprised the seven liberal arts (based on thinking skills), as opposed to the practical arts (such as medicine and architecture).
The quadrivium consisted of arithmetic, geometry, music and astronomy. These followed the preparatory work of the trivium made up of grammar, logic and rhetoric. In turn, the quadrivium was considered preparatory work for the serious study of philosophy (sometimes called the "liberal art par excellence") and theology.
Usage examples of "quadrivium".
Seeing clear evidence that the math part of the university quadrivium would be needed by future nurses and doctors, he wanted the book for the math faculty and students.
Louis scourged to exile the remnant of wastrels and gallants that had demoralized his court and settled down to a monastic quiet in which the trivium and the quadrivium resumed their proper ascendancy over romance and gasconnade.
I doubt if the curriculum of any modern university shows so clear and generous a comprehension of what is meant by culture, as this old Trivium and Quadrivium does.
Practitioner was the third of the five ranks, but the majority of students never progressed any further, unable to master the four Arts that made up the Quadrivium and achieve the real power of an adept.
I were certified as a practitioner, could you teach me the Quadrivium shipboard?
When Swallow passed the Quadrivium Cemetery, the middle of the column was bunching together in order to get a long look at the manor, and those at the end were still crossing the river.
Enfield Tennis Academy is the only athletic-focus-type school in North America that still adheres to the trivium and quadrivium of the hard-ass classical L.