Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “countercultural” come from?

Countercultural derives from English cultural, which comes from English culture, ultimately from Latin cultura meaning "tending or tillage," itself from Latin colo meaning "to cultivate," tracing back to Proto-Indo-European kʷel- meaning "to turn or move around."

countercultural (English): Of or pertaining to a counterculture

Definitions

  1. Of or pertaining to a counterculture

Ancestry of “countercultural”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishcountercultureAny culture whose values and lifestyles are...
2EnglishcultureThe arts, customs, lifestyles, background, and...
3Middle Frenchculturecultivation; culture
4Latincultūra—
5Latincultustilled, cultivated, having been cultivated;...
6Latincoleresecond-person singular future passive indicative...
7LatincoloI till, cultivate the land; I inhabit; I protect,...
8Latinquelo—
9Proto-Italickʷelō—
10Proto-Indo-Europeankʷéleti—
11Proto-Indo-Europeankʷel-to turn

Words derived from “countercultural”

  • counterculturally
  • counterculturalism
  • counterculturalist
Every word from Proto-Indo-European kʷel- →