Æs-thĕt'ies or Es-thĕt'ies, n. sing.

(Synop., § 130), n. sing. [Gr. αἰσθητικός, fitted for perception, perceptive, esp. by feeling, from αἰσθάνεσθαι, to perceive, apprehend by the senses; Fr. esthétique, Ger. ästhetik.] The theory or philosophy of taste; the science of the beautiful in nature and art, or that which treats of the principles of the belles lettres and fine arts. [See Note under MATHEMATICS.]