2 definitions found
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]:
Cultivate \Cul"ti*vate\ (k?l"t?-v?t), v. t. [imp. & p. p.
{Cultivated} (-v?`t?d); p. pr. & vb. n. {Cultivating}
(-v?`-t?ng).] [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.
From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:
cultivated
adj 1: (of land or fields) prepared for raising crops by plowing or
fertilizing; "cultivated land" [ant: {uncultivated}]
2: no longer in the natural state; developed by human care and
for human use; "cultivated roses"; "cultivated
blackberries"
3: marked by refinement in taste and manners; "cultivated
speech"; "cultured Bostonians"; "cultured tastes"; "a
genteel old lady"; "polite society" [syn: {civilized}, {civilised},
{cultured}, {genteel}, {polite}]