coltivare

Forms

coltivare (first-person singular present coltìvo, first-person singular past historic coltivài, past participle coltivàto, auxiliary avére)^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Medieval Latin cultivare, recorded in the chronicle of Salimbene, a verb formed from cultīvus (“tilled”), itself from Latin cultus (“tilled”), the past participle of colō (“to till”).^[2][3][1][4] Nocentini calls it a Romance formation and sees the adjective as modelled on vacīvus (“empty”).^[3] DELI derives the verb from the Latin supine cultum without naming the medieval verb, while Devoto–Oli, Devoto and the GDLI make it a verb from the adjective coltivo (“tilled”).^[5][6][7][8] There was an inherited Old French coutiver beside the learned cultiver, recorded in the 13th century.^[9] The verb is also French cultiver and Spanish cultivar.^[3]

The Latin verb, which meant to live in, inhabit, take care of and honour, goes back to Proto-Indo-European *kʷelh₁- (“to go round”); its /o/ comes from /e/ after the initial ⟨*kʷ-⟩.^[10]

Earliest recorded meaning

The TLIO's first record is a Tuscan text of Arrigo di Castiglia of 1267–1268, with the sense of working the land so that it bears fruit.^[4] DELI's first date is 1282, in Restoro d'Arezzo: Dea fare come lo bono coltivatore per coltivare e per semenare lo suo campo (“he must do as the good farmer does to till and sow his field”).^[5][8]

Semantic evolution

Old Italian already used the verb figuratively, for pursuing a study, an art or a feeling, and for caring for a person or for one's possessions.^[4] Following Latin colere, it also meant to worship or honour, and to inhabit; these senses are now obsolete.^[4][9][11] Dante has it in the plain farming sense (per coltivare omai verrebber meno).^[8]

DELI dates “to cultivate the mind” to before 1600 (Bernardo Davanzati), “to cultivate a friendship” to before 1566 (Annibal Caro), and the mining sense, “to work a deposit”, to 1855.^[5] The infinitive was also used as a noun, il coltivare, “agriculture”, by Davanzati and Tasso.^[8][12] Modern dictionaries add cultured pearls and, in law, keeping proceedings alive (coltivare un appello).^[2][13]

Timeline

• 1267–1268 – First record, in a Tuscan text of Arrigo di Castiglia.^[4]
• 1282 – Restoro d'Arezzo uses coltivare and coltivatore.^[5]
• 1353 – Boccaccio uses coltivazione in the sense “worship”.^[5]
• Before 1566 – Annibal Caro speaks of cultivating a friendship.^[5]
• Before 1600 – Bernardo Davanzati uses it of the mind.^[5]
• 1607–1614 – Coltivabile is recorded in Giovan Battista Marino.^[5]
• 1855 – The mining sense is recorded.^[5]
• 1950 – Luigi Einaudi uses coltivatore diretto.^[5]

Meanings

Verb

1. To work land so that it becomes productive; to cultivate or till: Mio nonno coltivava un piccolo campo a granturco.^[2][14][13]
2. To grow plants, tending them so that they bear fruit or flowers: coltivare pomodori in serra.^[2][6][11]
3. To produce pearls artificially.^[2][6]
4. (figurative) To devote oneself to an activity or skill and develop it: coltivare la pittura, coltivare l'ingegno.^[2][6][11]
5. (figurative) To keep a friendship alive; to cultivate a person, seeking their favour.^[2][13][11]
6. (figurative) To nurse a hope, plan or feeling: coltivare un desiderio di vendetta.^[2][14]
7. (mining) To exploit a deposit, mine or quarry.^[2][14][13]
8. (law) To keep proceedings alive by carrying out the required formalities: coltivare un ricorso.^[13]
9. (obsolete) To worship, honour.^[14][13][11]

Word family

• coltivabile
• coltivabilità
• coltivato
• coltivatore
• coltivazione
• coltivamento
• ricoltivare

Related words

• coltivo
• colto
• coltura
• cultura
• culto
• Latin colō
• French cultiver

Usage notes

The old variant cultivare shows the Latin spelling.^[15][1] Coltivare il proprio orto (to tend one's own garden) means to mind one's own business.^[2][6]

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
3. ^ a b c Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
4. ^ a b c d e Tesoro della Lingua Italiana delle Origini (1997–), Opera del Vocabolario Italiano, CNR, Firenze; tlio.ovi.cnr.it
5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Cortelazzo, Manlio; Zolli, Paolo (1999), Dizionario etimologico della lingua italiana, 2nd ed. by Manlio Cortelazzo and Michele A. Cortelazzo, Bologna: Zanichelli
6. ^ a b c d e Devoto, Giacomo; Oli, Gian Carlo; Serianni, Luca; Trifone, Maurizio (2026), Nuovo Devoto–Oli: il vocabolario dell'italiano contemporaneo, digital ed., Milano: Le Monnier
7. ^ Devoto, Giacomo (1968), Avviamento alla etimologia italiana: dizionario etimologico, 2nd ed., Firenze: Le Monnier
8. ^ a b c d Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca, p. 3, 330
9. ^ a b Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 1023
10. ^ de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
11. ^ a b c d e Duro, Aldo (ed.) (1986–1994), Vocabolario della lingua italiana, Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana; online ed. treccani.it/vocabolario (2008 copy)
12. ^ Tommaseo, Niccolò; Bellini, Bernardo (1861–1879), Dizionario della lingua italiana, 4 vols., Torino: UTET
13. ^ a b c d e f Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
14. ^ a b c d Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
15. ^ Gabrielli, Aldo (2020), Grande dizionario italiano, digital ed., Milano: Hoepli