Etymologically
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cultivation

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 26 October 2026 at 01:46. This address is a permanent link to this version.
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Pronunciation

  • UK: /ˌkʌltɪˈveɪʃ(ə)n/, /ˌkʌltəˈveɪʃ(ə)n/[1]
  • US: /ˌkʌltəˈveɪʃ(ə)n/[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Middle French cultivation,[2][3][4] a noun of action from cultiver,[2] or it was formed in English from the past participial stem of Medieval Latin cultivō (“to till”), with the suffix -ion; the OED gives both, since the French word is first recorded only in 1566.[4] The Medieval Latin verb comes from cultivus (“tilled”),[4][2] from Latin cultus (“care, labour; cultivation”), the past participle of colō (“to till, cultivate; to inhabit”).[2] Comparable words are Spanish cultivación (1576), Portuguese cultivação (1609) and Italian coltivazione (1513–21).[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

The preparing and use of land for growing crops; tillage: 1553, in John Brende's translation of Quintus Curtius.[4][5] The dates in other dictionaries are later: Random House gives 1690–1700,[6] Etymonline 1700, for a figurative sense,[2] and Merriam-Webster's Collegiate about 1716.[7]

Semantic evolution

The figurative senses arose early: the refining of a person or the mind by education is recorded from 1622, close attention to a branch of study from 1639, and the resulting refinement or culture from 1662.[4] They belong to a pattern of describing education in terms of farming that the Historical Thesaurus traces back to the 15th century.[8] The growing of plants is recorded from 1637,[4] although Etymonline dates it to 1719 and the tilling of land to 1725.[2] Johnson (1755) gave two senses, the art of improving soils and plants, and improvement in general.[9] From 1737 cultivation was the fostering of a friendship, from 1793 also courting a person's favour, now often with a hint of flattery.[4] The raising of animals and fish followed in 1791;[4] from 1881 biologists used it for growing microorganisms or cells, like culture.[4]

Timeline

  • 1553 – tillage of the land.[4][5]
  • 1622 – refining a person or the mind by education.[4]
  • 1637 – the growing of plants.[4]
  • 1639 – devotion to a branch of study.[4]
  • 1662 – refinement, culture.[4]
  • 1737 – the developing of a friendship.[4]
  • 1757 – cultivated land.[4]
  • 1791 – the raising of animals.[4]
  • 1881 – biology, the growing of microorganisms or cells.[4]

Meanings

Noun

  1. The preparing and working of land to grow crops; tillage: Much of the valley is now under cultivation.[10][5][4]
  2. The growing and tending of plants or crops.[10][4]
  3. The raising of animals, or the growing of microorganisms or cells; culture.[4][5]
  4. The development of the mind, taste or manners by education and training.[10][5][4]
  5. Culture or refinement, especially social sophistication.[10][7][4]
  6. The careful fostering of a friendship or relationship, or of a person's favour.[5][4]
  7. The pursuit or study of a branch of learning or an art.[5][4]

Word family

  • noncultivation
  • overcultivation
  • precultivation
  • recultivation
  • self-cultivation
  • uncultivation

References

  1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  3. ^ Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
  5. ^ a b c d e f g Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  6. ^ Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
  7. ^ a b Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  8. ^ Mapping Metaphor with the Historical Thesaurus, University of Glasgow, mappingmetaphor.arts.gla.ac.uk
  9. ^ Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.
  10. ^ a b c d Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins