pos>n. [ F. culte, L. cultus care, culture, fr. colere to cultivate. Cf. Cultus. ] 1. Attentive care; homage; worship. [ 1913 Webster ]

Every one is convinced of the reality of a better self, and of the cult or homage which is due to it. Shaftesbury. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. A system of religious belief and worship. [ 1913 Webster ]

That which was the religion of Moses is the ceremonial or cult of the religion of Christ. Coleridge. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. A system of intense religious veneration of a particular person, idea, or object, especially one considered spurious or irrational by traditional religious bodies; as, the Moonie cult. [ PJC ]

4. The group of individuals who adhere to a cult (senses 2 or 3). [ PJC ]

5. A strong devotion or interest in a particular person, idea or thing without religious associations, or the people holding such an interest; as, the cult of James Dean; the cult of personality in totalitarian societies. [ PJC ]

n. [ Etymol. uncertain. ] Empty oyster shells and other substances laid down on oyster grounds to furnish points for the attachment of the spawn of the oyster. [ Also written cutch. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Young or seed oysters together with the shells and other objects to which they are usually attached. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

3. Rubbish; débris; refuse. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

n. [ L. ] A colter. See Colter. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ See Cultirostres. ] (Zool.) Having a bill shaped like the colter of a plow, or like a knife, as the heron, stork, etc. [ 1913 Webster ]

‖n. pl. [ NL., fr. L. culter colter of a plow, knife + rostrum bill. ] (Zool.) A tribe of wading birds including the stork, heron, crane, etc. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ Cf. F. cultivable. ] Capable of being cultivated or tilled. Todd. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. a variety of a plant developed from a natural species and maintained under cultivation. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

a. Cultivable. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Cultivated p. pr. & vb. n. Cultivating ] [ 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. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To direct special attention to; to devote time and thought to; to foster; to cherish. [ 1913 Webster ]

Leisure . . . to cultivate general literature. Wordsworth. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. To seek the society of; to court intimacy with. [ 1913 Webster ]

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. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. To improve by labor, care, or study; to impart culture to; to civilize; to refine. [ 1913 Webster ]

To cultivate the wild, licentious savage. Addison. [ 1913 Webster ]

The mind of man hath need to be prepared for piety and virtue; it must be cultivated to the end. Tillotson. [ 1913 Webster ]

5. To raise or produce by tillage; to care for while growing; as, to cultivate corn or grass. [ 1913 Webster ]

adj. 1. marked by refinement in taste and manners; as, cultivated tastes in art.
Syn. -- civilized, cultured, genteel, polite. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

2. used for raising crops; -- of land or soil. [ WordNet 1.5 ]