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Where does the word "culture" come from? It comes from Latin colere, passing through Old French before entering English (1400s).
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Where does the word "culture" come from? It comes from Latin colere, passing through Old French before entering English (1400s).
Culture’s story begins in Latin: colere meant “to tend, cultivate.” The root of 'colony' and 'cult'. By medieval, the word had taken hold in Old French as culture. The cultivation of land. It reached English by 1400s as culture. The sense 'refinement of mind' dates from the 1500s; 'culture' of a society from the 1800s. Today, culture means the arts and customs of a society.
- Stage 1 · Latin · ancient colere "to tend, cultivate", the root of 'colony' and 'cult'.
- Stage 2 · Old French · medieval culture "tilling", the cultivation of land.
- Stage 3 · English · 1400s culture "tilling", the sense 'refinement of mind' dates from the 1500s; 'culture' of a society from the 1800s.