Culture

(kŭlt'ūr) (53), n. [Fr. culture, Pr., Sp., & Pg. cultura, It. cultura, coltura, Lat. cultura, from Lat. colere, cultum, to till, to cultivate.] 1. The act or practice of cultivating; cultivation; application of labor or means in rendering productive, in reducing, in refining and ameliorating, in cherishing, promoting, or advancing; as, the culture of the soil, of the mind, &c. If vain our toil, We ought to blame the culture, not the soil. Pope. 2. The state of being cultivated; result of cultivation; physical improvement; enlightenment and discipline acquired by mental training; civilization; refinement. A green and sequestered valley on which the Moorish peasant had exhausted that elaborate culture . . . which was unrivaled in any part of Europe. Prescott.