English
cultivate
Cultivate comes from Medieval Latin cultivō ‘till, cultivate’, from Proto-Italic *kʷelō ‘to inhabit’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *kʷelh₁- ‘to move, to turn (around), to revolve around,…’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*kʷelh₁-‘to move, to turn (around), to revolve around, and therefore to sojourn, to dwell’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*kʷélh₁etireconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*kʷelō‘to inhabit’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcolō‘to till, cultivate’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEcultus‘tilled, cultivated, having been cultivated’next step skipped: Medieval Latin cultīvusperfect passive participle of colō
- Medieval Latinc. 600–1500cultivō‘till, cultivate’
- Medieval Latin, derivedc. 600–1500cultivātusperfect passive participle of cultivō
- Englishearliest quotation 1819cultivate
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*kʷelh₁-‘to move, to turn (around), to revolve around, and therefore to sojourn, to dwell’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*kʷélh₁etireconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*kʷelō‘to inhabit’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcolō‘to till, cultivate’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEcultus‘tilled, cultivated, having been cultivated’next step skipped: Medieval Latin cultīvusperfect passive participle of colō
- Medieval Latinc. 600–1500cultivō‘till, cultivate’
- Medieval Latin, derivedc. 600–1500cultivātusperfect passive participle of cultivō
- Englishearliest quotation 1819cultivate
Earliest quotation: 1819, John William Polidori: “Left also to himself by guardians[…] he cultivated more…”
The story
The same Proto-Indo-European root also gave Latin in-quil-īnus (‘inhabitant’) and anculus (‘servant’).
Linked words
through Proto-Italic *kʷelō ‘to inhabit’
agriculture, aquaculture, subculture, monoculture, 66 more
through Latin colō ‘to till, cultivate’
Today it means
verb To grow plants, notably crops.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *kʷelh₁- / cultivate