Kunst

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A form of expression that encompasses creativity and skill, often manifested through various artistic mediums
2. A discipline involving the creation and appreciation of aesthetic objects, performances, or experiences by employing imagination and technique
3. A broad category of human activity where visual and performance arts are explored and appreciated for their beauty and emotional impact

Etymology: In German, "Kunst" once meant little more than knowing how to do something. Its earliest sense was practical knowledge or skill, a sense that still shows in older German phrases about a craft's know-how. The word narrowed toward creative and artistic work only gradually. The root is the Germanic verb meaning "to know," which also gave English "can," "ken," and "uncouth," literally "unknown" and so "unfamiliar" or "awkward." English "cunning" comes from the same family and followed a similar path: in Middle English it meant knowledge or skill before it came to mean craftiness. Over time, German speakers began applying the word to the beautiful arts in particular, and "die Künste" now usually means the fine arts. The older sense of skilled know-how survives in compounds and in the everyday word "können," "to be able to."

Synonyms: art