Category:Cultivate

Cul"ti*vate (kl"t-vt), v. t. [imp. & p.p. Cultivated (-v`td); p.pr. & vb. n. Cultivating (-v`-t*ng).] Etym: [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.

2. To direct special attention to; to devote time and thought to; to foster; to cherish. Leisure. . . to cultivate general literature. Wordsworth.

3. To seek the society of; to court intimacy with. 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.

4. To improve by labor, care, or study; to impart culture to; to civilize; to refine. To cultivate the wild, licentious savage. Addison. The mind of man hath need to be prepared for piety and virtue; it must be cultivated to the end. Tillotson.

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