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ETYMOLOGY OF "CULTURE"
Dennis Wiedman (WIEDMAND@SERVAX.FIU.EDU)
Thu, 10 Feb 1994 09:58:06 -0500
Now that the list discussants have tried to define "culture." What are
the origins of the word and its relationship to the word "agriculture"?
A few months ago I was speaking before a group of interdisciplinary
scholars and I was asked to define my use of the term "culture"
and how it is related to the word "Agriculture." I thought I did a good
job in defining culture, in the way I use the term, however, I was at a
loss of how it is related to the term "agriculture."
The American Heritage Dictionary defines "culture" as 1) The cultivation
of the soil; tillage. 2) The breeding of animals or growing of plants,
especially to produce improved stock, etc. It defines "Agriculture" as the
science, art, and business of cultivating the soil, producing crops, and
raising livestock useful to man; farming.
Somewhere in my early training I recall that "culture" came from the
German word "Kulture," and that Edward Tylor refined its use for the
basis of the discipline of anthropology.
What is the origin and modification of "Culture" as a "Meme."
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