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. Let us slice the meaning of cult one by one to make it understand easily. 1. The term "cult" first appeared in English in 1617. Now there are two things to consider before we can arrive at an answer. 1. Derivation 2. Etymology From the above we know that the definition for the word cult is a derived term and not an originated term. The difference is that cult clearly gives the meaning that we study or know it as not of something original, it is artificial like a gold plated glass or some make up. Take the photographs of the same person when he or she was as a child and then compare it to something when he or she in their 90s. In a cult they only show you the picture of a person in ...