Growing plants or crops by preparing soil and caring for them, or developing and nurturing a quality, skill, or relationship.
From Latin 'cultivare' (to till or prepare land), from 'cultus' (tended or cultivated). The metaphorical meaning of developing skills appeared in the 1600s.
The word 'culture' shares the same root as 'cultivate'—both come from the idea of carefully tending and nurturing something, whether crops or ideas, which is why we call all human knowledge 'culture'!
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