cultivate

B1 Topic:Gardening & Horticulture

US /ˈkʌltɪveɪt/ See IPA manual

Freq #18167

Meanings

1

verb
To prepare and use land to grow crops or plants.

Farmers in this region cultivate rice and corn.
2

verb
To develop or encourage a skill, quality, or relationship over time.

She worked hard to cultivate a good relationship with her clients.

Verb forms

Verb forms are not available for this word yet.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 verb · to prepare and use land to... work

2 verb · to develop or encourage a... train

Word family

Forms cultivatescultivating

Derived forms cocultivatecultivablecultivarcultivatablecultivated cultivation cultivatormiscultivateovercultivaterecultivatesubcultivateuncultivate

Appears in

Proverbs (1)

See all

Happiness is a habit
Matching variant: Happiness is a habit; cultivate it

Etymology

From Medieval Latin cultivātus, perfect passive participle of cultivō (“till, cultivate”) (see -ate (verb-forming suffix) for more), from cultīvus (“tilled”), from Latin cultus, perfect passive participle of colō (“till, cultivate”), which comes from earlier *quelō, from Proto-Indo-European *kʷel- (“to move; to turn (around)”). Cognates include Ancient Greek πέλω (pélō) and Sanskrit चरति (cárati). The same Proto-Indo-European root also gave Latin in-quil-īnus (“inhabitant”) and anculus (“servant”).

*kʷel- Proto-Indo-European cultivātus la-med cultus Latin

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Gardening & Horticulture Actions & Processes

External links

# cultivate

**Type:** Word
**Level:** B1
**Part of speech:** verb
**IPA (US):** /ˈkʌltɪveɪt/
**Frequency rank:** 18167

## Meanings
1. To prepare and use land to grow crops or plants.
2. To develop or encourage a skill, quality, or relationship over time.

## Examples
- Farmers in this region cultivate rice and corn.
- She worked hard to cultivate a good relationship with her clients.

## Derived Forms
- cocultivate
- cultivable
- cultivar
- cultivatable
- cultivated
- cultivation
- cultivator
- miscultivate
- overcultivate
- recultivate
- subcultivate
- uncultivate

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: *kʷel-
- Root: cultivātus
- Root: cultus

## Etymology
From Medieval Latin cultivātus, perfect passive participle of cultivō (“till, cultivate”) (see -ate (verb-forming suffix) for more), from cultīvus (“tilled”), from Latin cultus, perfect passive participle of colō (“till, cultivate”), which comes from earlier *quelō, from Proto-Indo-European *kʷel- (“to move; to turn (around)”). Cognates include Ancient Greek πέλω (pélō) and Sanskrit चरति (cárati). The same Proto-Indo-European root also gave Latin in-quil-īnus (“inhabitant”) and anculus (“servant”).

## AI Etymology
cultivate comes from Medieval Latin cultivātus, perfect passive participle of cultivō (“till, cultivate”) (see -ate (verb-forming suffix) for more), from cultīvus (“tilled”), from Latin cultus, perfect passive participle of colō (“till, cultivate”), which comes from earlier *quelō, from Proto-Indo-European *kʷel- (“to move; to turn (around)”). Cognates include Ancient Greek πέλω (pélō) and Sanskrit चरति (cárati). The same Proto-Indo-European root also gave Latin in-quil-īnus (“inhabitant”) and anculus (“servant”). Current senses include to prepare and use land to grow crops or plants and to develop or encourage a skill, quality, or relationship over time. English relatives and later formations include cocultivate, cultivable, cultivar.

## Topics
- Gardening & Horticulture
- Actions & Processes

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