Kultur German · revision 35348

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=1692, Christian Weise|origins=la colō}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /kʊlˈtuːɐ̯/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''Kultur''' ''f'' (genitive Kultur, plural Kulturen)^(Wiktionary)

+ Older texts spell it ''Cultur''.^(Paul 2002)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[bor|la|cultūra|t=tilling, cultivation; care, training of the mind]], from [[m|la|colō|t=to till, tend, cultivate]], borrowed in the 17th century.^(Kluge 2011|548)^(Pfeifer 1993)^(Wahrig Herkunftswörterbuch) Paul also names [[fr|culture]] as a model.^(Paul 2002) Pfeifer notes that the word was used in Latin inflected form in German texts before it was adopted as a German word towards the end of the 17th century.^(Pfeifer 1993) The same borrowing is [[nl|cultuur]], [[en|culture]] and [[sv|kultur]].^(Kluge 2011|548)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Paul cites ''Cultur der Sprache'' (“cultivation of language”) from Christian Weise in 1692, and the agricultural ''Cultur der Seide'' (“silk farming”) from 1708.^(Paul 2002) Kluge explains that the word first meant tillage and the care of crops and livestock, and was transferred in the 17th century after the Latin ''cultura animi'', education towards social life, the liberal arts and an honourable life, as in Pufendorf.^(Kluge 2011|548)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ In the second half of the 18th century the agricultural sense spread with the rise of farming and forestry (''Agrikultur'' is recorded in 1705), but the word gained its weight in the figurative use: from about 1700 the training and perfection of the individual, after Cicero's ''cultura autem animi philosophia est'' (“philosophy is the cultivation of the mind”).^(Pfeifer 1993)^(Paul 2002) The thinkers of the German Enlightenment, Herder and Kant above all, extended it from the individual to peoples and to humanity, and made it a catchword of the age.^(Pfeifer 1993)^(Paul 2002) Mendelssohn, around 1765, counted ''Bildung, Cultur und Aufklärung'' among the effects of people's efforts to improve their social condition.^(Paul 2002)

+

+ Nietzsche wrote in 1873 that ''Cultur ist vor allem Einheit des künstlerischen Stiles in allen Lebensäußerungen eines Volkes'' (“culture is above all unity of artistic style in all the expressions of a people's life”).^(Paul 2002) A German peculiarity is the opposition of ''Kultur'' and ''Zivilisation'', which begins with Kant and is sharpest in Spengler.^(Paul 2002) Many compounds followed, such as ''Kulturgeschichte'' (1784, Schlözer), and the adjective ''kulturell'' was formed in the 20th century with a French-looking ending.^(Paul 2002)^(Duden 7 2014|495) In the laboratory, ''Kultur'' also names a culture of bacteria.^(Paul 2002)^(Duden GWDS 1999) Yiddish borrowed the word as ''kultur''.^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1692 – Christian Weise writes of ''Cultur der Sprache''.^(Paul 2002)

+ * 1705 – ''Agrikultur'' is recorded.^(Paul 2002)

+ * 1708 – ''Cultur der Seide'' “silk farming”.^(Paul 2002)

+ * c. 1765 – Mendelssohn names ''Bildung, Cultur und Aufklärung'' together.^(Paul 2002)

+ * 1784 – Schlözer uses ''Kulturgeschichte''.^(Paul 2002)

+ * 1873 – Nietzsche defines ''Cultur'' as unity of artistic style.^(Paul 2002)

+ * 20th century – The adjective ''kulturell'' is formed.^(Duden 7 2014|495)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # The whole of the intellectual, artistic and creative achievements of a community; [[m|en|culture]].^(Duden GWDS 1999)^(Wiktionary)

+ # The culture of a particular people, region or period: ''die Kultur der Etrusker''.^(Duden GWDS 1999)^(Wiktionary DE)

+ # [[m|en|refinement]] or high standard in a human activity or way of life: ''eine gepflegte Kultur des Streitens''.^(Duden GWDS 1999)^(Wahrig Herkunftswörterbuch)

+ # ''(agriculture, gardening)'' The [[m|en|cultivation]] of the soil.^(Duden GWDS 1999)^(Wahrig Herkunftswörterbuch)

+ # ''(agriculture, forestry)'' Young plants grown on a large area; a [[m|en|plantation]].^(Duden GWDS 1999)^(Wiktionary DE)

+ # ''(biology, medicine)'' Microorganisms or tissue cells grown on a nutrient medium.^(Duden GWDS 1999)^(Wiktionary DE)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[kulturell]]

+ * [[Kulturgeschichte]]

+ * [[Kulturkampf]]

+ * [[Kulturpolitik]]

+ * [[Agrikultur]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[Kult]]

+ * [[kultivieren]]

+ * [[Kolonie]]

+ * [[en|culture]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ ''Von der Kultur unbeleckt sein'' (“untouched by culture”) is colloquial for being uncivilised or uncultured.^(Duden GWDS 1999)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}