A-căd'e-my, n.

n. [Fr. académie, Lat. academia, Gr. ἀκαδημία.]

1. A garden or grove near Athens, belonging to a person named Academus, where Plato and his followers held their philosophical conferences; hence, the school of philosophy of which Plato was head.
2. A school, or seminary of learning, holding a rank between a university, or college, and a common school.
3. A place of education of high rank; a college or university.
4. A society of men united for the promotion of arts and sciences in general, or of some particular art or science; as, the French Academy.
5. An institution for the cultivation and promotion of the fine arts, or some branch of science; as, an academy of arts, &c.

Academy figure (Paint.), a drawing usually made with black and white chalk, on tinted paper, after the living model. Brande.