entry
cultivation
/ˌkʌltɪˈveɪʃən/Careful raising, development, or improvement
From Latin via Medieval Latin and French cultivate (to till).
from Latin cultivare "to till" (see cultivate ). Meaning "the raising of a plant or crop" is
from Medieval Latin cultivātus, perfect passive participle of cultivō, + -ion, or Middle French cultivation. By...
from French cultivation (16c.), noun of action
from French cultivation (16c.), noun of action
from French cultivation (16c.), noun of action
Word Ancestry
from Latin cultivare "to till" (see cultivate ). Meaning "the raising of a plant or crop" is
from Medieval Latin cultivātus, perfect passive participle of cultivō, + -ion, or Middle French cultivation. By...
from French cultivation (16c.), noun of action
from French cultivation (16c.), noun of action
from French cultivation (16c.), noun of action
This is one of those words that started in the dirt and ended up in the drawing room. Romans used colere for the stubborn, practical business of tending fields, but also for tending people, gods, and habits of life — the same verb could mean farming, inhabiting, honoring, or caring for. By the 1700s English had taken cultivation and stretched it so far that it could describe a plowed hillside, a trained mind, or even a carefully managed friendship. That’s why it keeps company with culture, cultivate, and refinement: all of them are really about making something better by patient, repeated attention. In other words, cultivation is what happens when a farmer’s verb puts on a coat and learns manners.
The Story
This is one of those words that started in the dirt and ended up in the drawing room. Romans used colere for the stubborn, practical business of tending fields, but also for tending people, gods, and habits of life — the same verb could mean farming, inhabiting, honoring, or caring for. By the 1700s English had taken cultivation and stretched it so far that it could describe a plowed hillside, a trained mind, or even a carefully managed friendship. That’s why it keeps company with culture, cultivate, and refinement: all of them are really about making something better by patient, repeated attention. In other words, cultivation is what happens when a farmer’s verb puts on a coat and learns manners.
Kin & Kindred
From 'cultivate'·to till, tend, foster, improve
Derived Terms
English words from this root
From '-ion'·noun-forming suffix denoting action or result
Derived Terms
English words from this root
Sources
Etymonline
Free Dictionary
Urban Dictionary