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The term "cult" first appeared in English in 1617, derived from the French culte, meaning "worship" which in turn originated from the Latin word cultus meaning "care, cultivation, worship". The meaning "devotion to a person or thing" is from 1829. Starting about 1920, "cult" acquired an additional six or more positive and negative definitions.
The noun cultus originates from the past participle of the verb colo, colere, colui, cultus, "to tend, take care of, cultivate," originally meaning "to dwell in, inhabit" and thus "to tend, cultivate land ; to practice agriculture," an activity fundamental to Roman identity even when Rome as a political center had become fully urbanized.
The word "cult" is derived from the Latin term cultus, which means worship. [2] In English the term cult usually carries derogatory connotations. [3] The term is variously applied to abusive or coercive groups of many categories, including gangs, organized crime, and terrorist organizations. [4]
The Latin term religiō, the origin of the modern lexeme religion (via Old French/Middle Latin [2]), is of ultimately obscure etymology. It is recorded beginning in the 1st century BC, i.e. in Classical Latin at the end of the Roman Republic, notably by Cicero, in the sense of "scrupulous or strict observance of the traditional cultus".
In 1986, philosopher Edward S. Casey wrote, "The very word culture meant 'place tilled' in Middle English, and the same word goes back to Latin colere, 'to inhabit, care for, till, worship' and cultus, 'A cult, especially a religious one.' To be cultural, to have a culture, is to inhabit a place sufficiently intensely to cultivate it—to be ...
An imperial cult temple was known as a caesareum (Latin) or sebasteion (Greek). In Fishwick's analysis, cult to Roman state divi was associated with temples, and the genius cult to the living emperor with his altar. The emperor's image, and its siting within the temple complex, focused attention on his person and attributes, and his position in ...
The word culture is derived from the Latin root cultura or cultus meaning to "inhabit, cultivate, or honour". In general, culture refers to human activity; different definitions of culture reflect different theories for understanding, or criteria for valuing human activity.
The word culture is derived from the Latin root cultura or cultus meaning to "inhabit, cultivate, or honour". In general, culture refers to human activity; different definitions of culture reflect different theories for understanding, or criteria for valuing human activity.