The term "Liberal Arts" derives from Latin and refers, historically, to work that was suitable for free men.  This kind of work stood in opposition to the more menial work that was believed suitable for slaves, serfs or other indentured workers.  "Liberal," then, in this context, has its etymological roots in "freedom" and has no connection to the political connotations (liberal vs conservative) that the word has come to possess. 

Philosophy Reigning Over the Seven Liberal Arts

In the realm of education, the Liberal Arts originally included what was called the "trivium"--grammar, logic, and rhetoric--and the "quadrivium," or astronomy, geometry, music, and arithmetic.  These were the fields of study most highly valued in classical period and the Middle Ages, and hence the fields to which only free men had access.

Though the meaning of "Liberal Arts" and our ideas about who has a right to a liberal arts education have both evolved since medieval times, one guiding principle applies today as well as it did from the 5th to the 13th centuries: a student who pursues a liberal arts education receives exposure to many different fields of study, enhances his or her cultural awareness, and becomes a stronger reader, writer, communicator, and critical thinker.