Æs*thet"ics, Es*thet"ics (&?;; 277), n. [Gr. &?; perceptive, esp. by feeling, fr. &?; to perceive, feel: cf. G. ästhetik, F. esthétique.] The theory or philosophy of taste; the science of the beautiful in nature and art; esp. that which treats of the expression and embodiment of beauty by art.

Es"thete (?), n.; Es*thet"ic (&?;), a., Es*thet"ic*al (&?;), a., Es*thet"ics (&?;), n. etc. Same as Æsthete, Æsthetic, Æsthetical, Æsthetics, etc.