What is Culture

cul⋅ture [kuhl-cher] Show IPA noun, verb, -tured, -tur⋅ing.
Use culture in a Sentence
–noun 1. the quality in a person or society that arises from a concern for what is regarded as excellent in arts, letters, manners, scholarly pursuits, etc.
2. that which is excellent in the arts, manners, etc.
3. a particular form or stage of civilization, as that of a certain nation or period: Greek culture. 
4. development or improvement of the mind by education or training.
5. the behaviors and beliefs characteristic of a particular social, ethnic, or age group: the youth culture; the drug culture. 
6. Anthropology. the sum total of ways of living built up by a group of human beings and transmitted from one generation to another.
7. Biology. a. the cultivation of microorganisms, as bacteria, or of tissues, for scientific study, medicinal use, etc.
b. the product or growth resulting from such cultivation.

8. the act or practice of cultivating the soil; tillage.
9. the raising of plants or animals, esp. with a view to their improvement.
10. the product or growth resulting from such cultivation.

–verb (used with object) 11. to subject to culture; cultivate.
12. Biology. a. to grow (microorganisms, tissues, etc.) in or on a controlled or defined medium.
b. to introduce (living material) into a culture medium.


Origin: 
1400–50; late ME: tilling, place tilled (< AF) < L cultūra. See cult, -ure 

Synonyms:
4. See education. 
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009. 
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Related Words for : culture
civilisation, civilization, acculturation, cultivation, finish
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www.CookMyosite.comcul·ture (kŭl'chər)  
n.  
The totality of socially transmitted behavior patterns, arts, beliefs, institutions, and all other products of human work and thought.
These patterns, traits, and products considered as the expression of a particular period, class, community, or population: Edwardian culture; Japanese culture; the culture of poverty.
These patterns, traits, and products considered with respect to a particular category, such as a field, subject, or mode of expression: religious culture in the Middle Ages; musical culture; oral culture.
The predominating attitudes and behavior that characterize the functioning of a group or organization.
Development of the intellect through training or education.
Enlightenment resulting from such training or education.
The growing of microorganisms, tissue cells, or other living matter in a specially prepared nutrient medium.
Such a growth or colony, as of bacteria.
Intellectual and artistic activity and the works produced by it.
Development of the intellect through training or education.
Enlightenment resulting from such training or education.
The growing of microorganisms, tissue cells, or other living matter in a specially prepared nutrient medium.
Such a growth or colony, as of bacteria.
A high degree of taste and refinement formed by aesthetic and intellectual training.
Special training and development: voice culture for singers and actors.
The cultivation of soil; tillage.
The breeding of animals or growing of plants, especially to produce improved stock.
Biology 
The growing of microorganisms, tissue cells, or other living matter in a specially prepared nutrient medium.
Such a growth or colony, as of bacteria.
tr.v. cul·tured, cul·tur·ing, cul·tures
To cultivate.
To grow (microorganisms or other living matter) in a specially prepared nutrient medium.
To use (a substance) as a medium for culture: culture milk.

[Middle English, cultivation, from Old French, from Latin cultūra, from cultus, past participle of colere; see cultivate.]
Usage Note: The application of the term culture to the collective attitudes and behavior of corporations arose in business jargon during the late 1980s and early 1990s. Unlike many locutions that emerge in business jargon, it spread to popular use in newspapers and magazines. Few Usage Panelists object to it. Over 80 percent of Panelists accept the sentence The new management style is a reversal of GE's traditional corporate culture, in which virtually everything the company does is measured in some form and filed away somewhere. · Ever since C.P. Snow wrote of the gap between "the two cultures" (the humanities and science) in the 1950s, the notion that culture can refer to smaller segments of society has seemed implicit. Its usage in the corporate world may also have been facilitated by increased awareness of the importance of genuine cultural differences in a global economy, as between Americans and the Japanese, that have a broad effect on business practices.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. 
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culture 


The sum of attitudes, customs, and beliefs that distinguishes one group of people from another. Culture is transmitted, through language, material objects, ritual, institutions, and art, from one generation to the next.
Note: Anthropologists consider that the requirements for culture (language use, tool making, and conscious regulation of sex) are essential features that distinguish humans from other animals.
Note: Culture also refers to refined music, art, and literature; one who is well versed in these subjects is considered “cultured.”
The American Heritage® New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. 
Cite This Source 
Language Translation for : culture
Spanish: cultura, 
German: die Kultur, 
Japanese: 文化 
More Translations »

culture  
1440, "the tilling of land," from L. cultura, from pp. stem of colere "tend, guard, cultivate, till" (see cult). The figurative sense of "cultivation through education" is first attested 1510. Meaning "the intellectual side of civilization" is from 1805; that of "collective customs and achievements of a people" is from 1867. Slang culture vulture is from 1947. Culture shock first recorded 1940.
"For without culture or holiness, which are always the gift of a very few, a man may renounce wealth or any other external thing, but he cannot renounce hatred, envy, jealousy, revenge. Culture is the sanctity of the intellect." [William Butler Yeats]
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper 
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Main Entry: 1cul·ture
Pronunciation: 'k&l-ch&r
Function: noun
1 a : the integrated pattern of human behavior that includesthought, speech, action, and artifacts and depends upon the human capacity for learning and transmitting knowledge to succeeding generations b : the customary beliefs, social forms,and material traits of a racial, religious, or social group 
2 a : the act or process of growing living material (as bacteria or viruses) in prepared nutrient media b : a product of cultivation in nutrient media —cul·tur·al /'k&lch(-&)-r&l/ adjective —cul·tur·al·ly /-r&-lE/ adverb 

Main Entry: 2culture
Function: transitive verb
Inflected Forms: cul·tured; cul·tur·ing /'k&lch-(&-)ri[ng]/ 
1 : to grow (as microorganisms or tissues) in a prepared medium 
2 : to start a culture from ; also : to make a culture of 
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc. 
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culture cul·ture (kŭl'chər)
n. 
The growing of microorganisms, tissue cells, or other living matter in a specially prepared nutrient medium.
Such a growth or colony, as of bacteria.
v. cul·tured, cul·tur·ing, cul·tures 
To grow microorganisms or other living matter in a specially prepared nutrient medium.
To use a substance as a medium for culture.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. 
Cite This Source culture (kŭl'chər) Pronunciation Key  
Noun  
A growth of microorganisms, viruses, or tissue cells in a specially prepared nutrient medium under supervised conditions.
The totality of socially transmitted behavior patterns, arts, beliefs, institutions, and all other products of human work and thought. Culture is learned and shared within social groups and is transmitted by nongenetic means.

Verb To grow microorganisms, viruses, or tissue cells in a nutrient medium. 

The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2002. Published by Houghton Mifflin. All rights reserved. 
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