Cultivate

Cultivate
Cultivate Cul"ti*vate (k?l"t?-v?t), v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Cultivated} (-v?`t?d); p. pr. & vb. n. {Cultivating} (-v?`-t?ng).] [LL. cultivatus, p. p. of cultivare to cultivate, fr. cultivus cultivated, fr. L. cultus, p. p. of colere to till, cultivate. Cf. {Colony}.] 1. To bestow attention, care, and labor upon, with a view to valuable returns; to till; to fertilize; as, to cultivate soil. [1913 Webster]

2. To direct special attention to; to devote time and thought to; to foster; to cherish. [1913 Webster]

Leisure . . . to cultivate general literature. --Wordsworth. [1913 Webster]

3. To seek the society of; to court intimacy with. [1913 Webster]

I ever looked on Lord Keppel as one of the greatest and best men of his age; and I loved and cultivated him accordingly. --Burke. [1913 Webster]

4. To improve by labor, care, or study; to impart culture to; to civilize; to refine. [1913 Webster]

To cultivate the wild, licentious savage. --Addison. [1913 Webster]

The mind of man hath need to be prepared for piety and virtue; it must be cultivated to the end. --Tillotson. [1913 Webster]

5. To raise or produce by tillage; to care for while growing; as, to cultivate corn or grass. [1913 Webster]


The Collaborative International Dictionary of English. 2000.

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  • cultivate — cul‧ti‧vate [ˈkʌltveɪt] verb [transitive] 1. FARMING to prepare and use land for growing crops and plants: • Some of the land would be impossible to cultivate. 2. to develop a particular skill or quality in yourself: • The company has been… …   Financial and business terms

  • cultivate — [v1] develop land for growing breed, crop, dress, farm, fertilize, garden, harvest, labor, manage, mature, plant, plow, prepare, propagate, raise, ripen, seed, tend, till, work; concepts 253,257 Ant. destroy, ignore, neglect cultivate [v2] enrich …   New thesaurus

  • cultivate — [kul′tə vāt΄] vt. cultivated, cultivating [< ML cultivatus, pp. of cultivare < LL cultivus, tilled < L cultus: see CULT] 1. to prepare and use (soil or land) for growing crops; till 2. to break up the surface soil around (plants) in… …   English World dictionary

  • cultivate — I verb advance, colere, develop, elevate, enrich, farm, forward, foster, further, garden, improve, make better, nourish, nurture, polish, prepare for crops, promote, rarefy, refine, till, train, work II index ameliorate, cause, develop …   Law dictionary

  • cultivate — (v.) early 17c., from M.L. cultivatus, pp. of cultivare, from L.L. cultivus tilled, from L. cultus (see CULT (Cf. cult)). Figurative sense of improve by training or education is from 1680s. Related: Cultivable; cultivated; cultivating …   Etymology dictionary

  • cultivate — nurture, *nurse, foster, cherish Analogous words: develop, *mature, ripen: raise, rear (see LIFT): educate, train, instruct, *teach: *improve, better, ameliorate Contrasted words: *neglect, ignore, disregard, slight …   New Dictionary of Synonyms

  • cultivate — ► VERB 1) prepare and use (land) for crops or gardening. 2) raise or grow (plants or crops). 3) grow or maintain (living cells or tissue) in an artificial medium containing nutrients. 4) try to acquire or develop (a quality or skill). 5) try to… …   English terms dictionary

  • cultivate — 01. They [cultivate] grapes for making excellent wine in many parts of the Okanagan. 02. It is the job of a parent to [cultivate] a sense of self confidence in children. 03. Boris Yeltsin [cultivated] Vladimir Putin as his successor as the leader …   Grammatical examples in English

  • cultivate — [[t]kʌ̱ltɪveɪt[/t]] cultivates, cultivating, cultivated 1) VERB If you cultivate land or crops, you prepare land and grow crops on it. [V n] She also cultivated a small garden of her own. [V ed] ...the few patches of cultivated land. Derived… …   English dictionary

  • cultivate — transitive verb ( vated; vating) Etymology: Medieval Latin cultivatus, past participle of cultivare, from cultivus cultivable, from Latin cultus, past participle of colere Date: circa 1655 1. to prepare or prepare and use for the raising of… …   New Collegiate Dictionary

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