cultivate

The story

1. Proto-Indo-European · derived from*kʷel-“to move; to turn (around)”
2. Latin · derived fromcultus
3. Medieval Latin · derived fromcultivātus
4. English todaycultivate

From Medieval Latin cultivātus, perfect passive participle of cultivō (“till, cultivate”) (see -ate (verb-forming suffix) for more), from cultīvus (“tilled”), from Latin cultus, perfect passive participle of colō (“till, cultivate”), which comes from earlier *quelō, from Proto-Indo-European *kʷel- (“to move; to turn (around)”). Cognates include Ancient Greek πέλω (pélō) and Sanskrit चरति (cárati). The same Proto-Indo-European root also gave Latin in-quil-īnus (“inhabitant”) and anculus (“servant”).

Words from the same roots