horticulture (2009-08-08)

Part of Speech: noun

Pronunciation: ['hor-tê-kêl-chUr or -chêr]

Definition: The science (or art) of growing fruits, vegetables, flowers and ornamental plants; the cultivation of a garden.

Usage: "Horticulture" is the elevated alternative to gardening, "Terence will lead you to believe he has a sophisticated grasp of horticulture but he barely knows enough to stake up his tomato plants." You may use this word as an emphatic alternative for gardening: "Oh yes, my nephew, the horticulturist; he knows so much horticulture he dug up all his fescue and left the crab grass in his front yard."

Suggested Usage: Horticulture isn't synonymous with agriculture. "Agriculture" denotes working with the soil to grow crops. As we have seen from today's definition, horticulture has to do with fussier plants that require more individual attention. One who follows this pursuit is a horticulturist; the adjective is "horticultural" and the adverb, "horticulturally."

Etymology: This word was borrowed from Latin hortus "garden" + cultura "cultivation." The Proto-Indo-European stem, *gher-dho-/*ghor-dho- "enclose" bore the English words "yard," "orchard" (from Late Latin [h]ortis + yard), and "gard-en," which in German is the "Garten," found in Kindergarten, the garden where children grow. In the Slavic languages this stem emerged as Serbian and Old Slavonic grad "city" (as in "Leningrad") and Russian gorod "city." In Greek the root *ghor- without the suffix emerged as khoros "dance, chorus" (via "dancing enclosure?").