Noah Webster's New International Dictionary of the English Language

1. (v. t.) To cultivate by manual labor; to till; hence, to develop by culture.

2. (v. t.) To apply manure to; to enrich, as land, by the application of a fertilizing substance.

3. (n.) Any matter which makes land productive; a fertilizing substance, as the contents of stables and barnyards, dung, decaying animal or vegetable substances, etc.