culturile

Culturile is the plural form of the Romanian noun cultura and is used across several domains to denote different but related ideas. In the humanities, it refers to the cultures of peoples and civilizations—the shared beliefs, practices, arts, languages, and institutions that characterize a society. In this sense, phrases like culturile lumii or culturile tradiționale describe the diverse patterns of human life and creativity.

In agriculture and agronomy, cultura can mean cultivation, including the act of growing crops. The plural form culturile can appear when speaking about the crops grown on land or about different farming systems, as in culturile agricole. The sense here emphasizes the practical activity of producing plant yields rather than the cultural or artistic dimensions.

In science, especially biology and biotechnology, culturile denotes laboratory cultures—cultures of microorganisms or cells grown under controlled conditions. Examples include culturile bacteriene (bacterial cultures) or culturile de celule (cell cultures). This usage is distinct from the anthropological sense and relies on technical terminology.

Usage notes: culturile as a definite plural often points to specific cultures already identified in discourse, whereas culturi (without the definite article) can refer to cultures in a general sense. The meaning is determined by context, and Romanian speakers may choose a synonym such as cultura for an abstract notion of culture, or cultură pentru the broader concept of civilization and arts.