1. From Latin cultus "cultivation, care, attention, worship", from cult-, stem of colere "to till, cultivate, attend to".
2. A religion or religious sect generally considered to be extremist or false, with its followers often living in an unconventional manner under the guidance of an authoritarian, charismatic leader.
3. A system or community of religious worship and ritual.
4. Usually nonscientific method or regimen claimed by its originator to have exclusive or exceptional power in curing a particular disease.
5. Obsessive, especially faddish, devotion to or veneration for a person, principle, or thing.
6. An exclusive group of people sharing an esoteric, usually artistic or intellectual interest.

Latin colere meant "inhabit, cultivate", and also "worship". The notion of "inhabiting" is reflected in its descendant colony, but its past participial stem cult- has bequeathed us other aspects of its meaning.

"Worship" is represented by cult which was acquired via French culte or directly from Latin cultus.

"Developing the land" appears in cultivate, from the medieval Latin derivative cultivare, and by metaphorical extension in culture, from French culture, which originally meant "piece of tilled land".

A form of religion that has ceremonies which are intended to maintain the reproductions of the people and the agriculture of a community: Abraham and his wife, Sara, were members of a fertility cult because they wanted to guarantee the future well-being of the people in their group, have more children, and, at the same time, provide good harvests of nourishing food for everyone.