v.tr.
1. a prepare and use (soil etc.) for crops or gardening. b break up (the ground) with a cultivator.
2 a raise or produce (crops). b culture (bacteria etc.).
3 a (often as cultivated adj.) apply oneself to improving or developing (the mind, manners, etc.). b pay attention to or nurture (a person or a person's friendship).
Derivatives:
cultivable adj. cultivatable adj. cultivation n.
Etymology: med.L cultivare f. cultiva (terra) arable (land) (as CULT)