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cultural

Etymology and origin of the English word cultural

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Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
1813
Ultimate origin
Latin (colō)
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Latin colo
Latin cultura
English culture
English cultural

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ˈkʌl.tʃᵊr.ᵊl/[1]

Etymology

It is a derivation, from English culture + -al,[2] or formed from Latin cultūra (“tillage, cultivation; care”) and -al,[3][4][5] from the past participle stem of colere (“to tend, till, cultivate”).[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Relating to the raising of plants or animals: 1813 in Etymonline[3] and 1868 in the OED.[6] Merriam-Webster dates the word 1856.[2]

Semantic evolution

The senses “relating to the cultivation of the mind” and “relating to a civilization” are from 1875,[3][6] and “relating to the culture of a particular place and time” by 1909.[3] The biological sense, relating to the culture of micro-organisms, is from 1900.[6] The word has been a fertile starter among anthropologists and sociologists: cultural anthropology by 1910, cultural diffusion by 1912, cultural pluralism by 1932, cultural diversity by 1935 and cultural relativism by 1948.[3] China's Cultural Revolution began in 1965.[3] A cultural attaché is an embassy official who promotes his or her country's culture.[5]

Timeline

  • 1813 – relating to cultivation of plants.[3]
  • 1875 – relating to the mind; to a civilization.[3][6]
  • 1900 – in biology.[6]
  • 1910 – cultural anthropology.[3]
  • 1935 – cultural diversity.[3]
  • 1965 – the Cultural Revolution.[3]

Modern meaning

Adjective

  1. Relating to the ideas, customs and social behaviour of a society.
  2. Relating to the arts and intellectual achievement.
  3. Relating to the cultivation of plants or the growing of bacteria.

Word family

  • culturally
  • culture
  • cultivate
  • cult
  • agriculture
  • colony

References

  1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
  2. ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  5. ^ a b Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  6. ^ a b c d e Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
Cite this entry

“Cultural.” Etymologically, 15 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/en/cultural. Accessed 15 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·