cultivate, v.
(ˈkʌltɪveɪt)
[f. cultīvāt-, ppl. stem of late (and med.)L. cultīvāre to till, (in It. coltivare, Pr. coltivar, cultivar, F. cultiver, OF. and dial. coutiver), f. late L. cultīvus (cultīva terra), characterized by being tilled, f. cultus, pa. pple. of colĕre to till, cultivate, take care of. For the form cf. captivate. In earlier use we had cultive v.]
I. lit.
1. a. trans. To bestow labour and attention upon (land) in order to the raising of crops; to till; to improve and render fertile by husbandry.
| 1620–55 [see cultivating vbl. n.]. 1656 Blount Glossogr., Cultivate, to plow or Till. 1681 Otway Soldier's Fort. v. i, 'Tis a great pity so good a husbandman as you should want a farm to cultivate. 1719 De Foe Crusoe ii. xiii, A Country infinitely populous, but miserably cultivated. 1796 Morse Amer. Geog. II. 551 Most of the rivers of Bengal..have their banks cultivated with rice. 1838 Thirlwall Greece II. 321 The Athenians returned to cultivate their fields. 1872 Yeats Techn. Hist. Comm. 63 Gardens were cultivated by the ancient Greeks. |
b. techn. To break up (ground) with a cultivator (sense 3).
| 1846 Jrnl. R. Agric. Soc. VII. ii. 288 The stubble was ploughed, and in the spring of 1842 it was manured and grubbed, or ‘cultivated’, and sown with mangold-wurzel. |
2. a. To bestow labour and attention upon (a plant) so as to promote its growth; to produce or raise by tillage. Also transf. of fish, etc.
| 1697 Dryden Virg. Georg. iv. 193 Pot-herbs..cultivated with his daily Care. 1707 Curios. in Husb. & Gard. 4 The Plants that Adam took Pleasure to cultivate there. 1862 Cornh. Mag. V. 197 All the species of fish usually cultivated in the country. 1871 R. W. Dale Commandm. ix. 231 A rose, however you cultivate it, remains a rose. |
b. Biol. = culture v. c.
| 1888 Ann. Bot. II. 373 The spores, cultivated in suitabel media, give rise..to a copiously branched and septate mycelium. 1891 G. S. Woodhead Bacteria x. 195 The bacilli, when obtained pure, and cultivated in fluid, grew out into very long threads. 1910 Jrnl. Amer. Med. Assoc. 15 Oct. 1381/1 Adult tissues and organs of mammals can be cultivated outside of the animal body. 1924 T. S. P. Strangeways Tissue Culture in Rel. Growth i. 11 The tissues of such an embryo can be readily cultivated, even if removed as much as fourteen days after the death of the animal. 1926 Proc. R. Soc. B.C. 273 If the undifferentiated limb-bud of the embryonic Fowl was cultivated in vitro, it underwent a considerable amount of progressive development. 1953 Sci. Progress XLI. 212 In organ culture, complete rudiments or fragments of organs are cultivated. 1963 Penso & Balducci Tissue Cultures in Biol. Res. vi. 145 Blood cells that can be most easily cultivated are macrophages or monocytes. |
II. fig.
3. To improve and develop by education or training (a person, his mind, manners, faculties); to refine, to culture.
| 1681–6 J. Scott Chr. Life (1747) III. 377 To cultivate its [a child's] Manners with good Precepts and Counsels. 1713 Addison Cato i, To cultivate the wild licentious savage With wisdom, discipline, and liberal arts. 1779 Burke Corr. (1844) II. 273, I have endeavoured so to cultivate my mind, that [etc.]. 1831 Sir. J. Sinclair Corr. II. 348 To learn every thing to cultivate the spirit. |
4. To promote the growth of, devote oneself to the advancement or development of (an art, science, sentiment, etc.); to foster.
| 1662 Evelyn Chalcogr. A iij, That great..designe..of cultivating the Sciences, and advancing of usefull knowledge. Ibid. 32 Ye that love vertue and cultivate the sciences. 1694 tr. Milton Lett. State Sept. an. 1652, How firmly we are resolv'd to cultivate..that friendship which is between your serenity and this republic. 1747 Butler Serm. Wks. 1874 II. 302 Let us be the more careful to cultivate inward religion. 1760 Goldsm. Cit. W. cxvi, Though it cannot plant morals in the human breast, it cultivates them when there. |
5. a. To devote one's attention to, to prosecute, follow, practise, cherish (any art, science, sentiment, habit, or pursuit, esp. with the object of acquiring it, or improving oneself in it).
| 1749 Fielding Tom Jones iii. ii, [They] cultivate the same superstition with the Bannians in India. 1756 C. Lucas Ess. Waters I. Pref., Let us cultivate our own excellent language. 1862 Sir B. Brodie Psychol. Inq. II. v. 167 The higher mathematics are absolutely necessary to those who cultivate..astronomy. 1863 Mrs. C. Clarke Shaks. Char. v. 123 As a soldier, he cultivates bluntness. |
b. Phrases. to cultivate the acquaintance, friendship, or good opinion of, cultivate relations with.
(These connect 4 and 5.)
| 1699 Bentley Phal. 276 He had ix entire years to cultivate a Friendship with Themistocles. 1748 Richardson Clarissa (1811) I. ii. 10 He was more solicitous to cultivate her mamma's good opinion, than hers. 1791 Boswell Johnson an. 1753, He cultivated his acquaintance. 1818 Jas. Mill Brit. India II. v. iv. 472 A desire to cultivate the friendship of the English. 1888 W. R. Carles Life in Corea i. 7 Mr. Mayers..did his utmost..to cultivate some relations with the people and officials. |
c. Hence (ellipt.) to cultivate a person: to bestow attention upon him with a view to intimacy or favour; to court the acquaintance or friendship of.
| 1707 Collier Refl. Ridic. 215 The Great honour him, cultivate him, respect him, court him. 1796 Burke Lett. Noble Lord Wks. VIII. 64, I loved and cultivated him accordingly. 1870 Disraeli Lothair xxxvi. 186, I..felt that he was a person I should like to cultivate. 1889 Cornh. Mag. Feb., The County iv, I shall cultivate Sir Joseph. |
† d. intr. Const. with. Obs.
| 1772 F. Burney Early Diary (1889) I. 169 If my father was disposed to cultivate with the world, what a delightful acquaintance he might have! |