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Etymology of "culture"
Glenn Stone (stone@COLUMBIA.EDU)
Thu, 10 Feb 1994 12:58:58 EST
>Now that the list discussants have tried to define "culture." What are
>the origins of the word and its relationship to the word "agriculture"?
It's not much, but:
" 'Culture' was first used to talk about cultivating a field and
only later transferred to *cultura anima*, 'the cultivation of
minds or souls'. Greek *ethnos* once designated just a 'bunch',
without reference to descent or political cohesion; Homer spoke
of a flock of animals or a swarm of bees, as well as a bunch of
people..."
Wolf, Eric R. 1994 Perilous Ideas: Race, Culture, People. Current
Anthropology 35:1-12.
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Glenn Davis Stone BITNET: stone@cunixf
Columbia University INTERNET: stone@columbia.edu
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