ABSTRACT
The word ‘culture’ appears to have begun life as the Italian term, cultura and we find references occurring in thirteenth and fourteenth century literature.1 Cultura specifically means ‘to cultivate’ and, in its original sense, referred to cultivation of the soil and the tending of animals, from which sense we obtain the word ‘agriculture.’2 The French borrowed the term cultura from the Italians, first as couture and then as culture. ‘Culture’ quickly spread across Europe under the influence of the European aristocracies’ fascination with all things French, making its appearance in England during the fifteenth century. The word’s etymological root in the idea of ‘cultivation’ is crucial.
