Definify.com

Webster 1913 Edition

Root

Root

,
Verb.
I.
[AS.
wrōtan
; akin to
wrōt
a snout, trunk, D.
wroeten
to root, G.
rüssel
snout, trunk, proboscis, Icel.
rōta
to root, and perhaps to L.
rodere
to gnaw (E.
rodent
) or to E.
root
, n.]
1.
To turn up the earth with the snout, as swine.
2.
Hence, to seek for favor or advancement by low arts or groveling servility; to fawn servilely.

Root

,
Verb.
T.
To turn up or to dig out with the snout;
as, the swine
roots
the earth
.

Root

,
Noun.
[Icel.
rōt
(for
vrōt
); akin to E.
wort
, and perhaps to
root
to turn up the earth. See
Wort
.]
1.
(Bot.)
(a)
The underground portion of a plant, whether a true root or a tuber, a bulb or rootstock, as in the potato, the onion, or the sweet flag.
(b)
The descending, and commonly branching, axis of a plant, increasing in length by growth at its extremity only, not divided into joints, leafless and without buds, and having for its offices to fix the plant in the earth, to supply it with moisture and soluble matters, and sometimes to serve as a reservoir of nutriment for future growth. A true root, however, may never reach the ground, but may be attached to a wall, etc., as in the ivy, or may hang loosely in the air, as in some epiphytic orchids.
2.
An edible or esculent root, especially of such plants as produce a single root, as the beet, carrot, etc.;
as, the
root
crop
.
3.
That which resembles a root in position or function, esp. as a source of nourishment or support; that from which anything proceeds as if by growth or development;
as, the
root
of a tooth, a nail, a cancer, and the like
.
Specifically:
(a)
An ancestor or progenitor; and hence, an early race; a stem.
They were the
roots
out of which sprang two distinct people.
Locke.
(b)
A primitive form of speech; one of the earliest terms employed in language; a word from which other words are formed; a radix, or radical.
(c)
The cause or occasion by which anything is brought about; the source.
“She herself . . . is root of bounty.”
Chaucer.
The love of money is a
root
of all kinds of evil.
1 Tim. vi. 10 (rev. Ver.)
(d)
(Math.)
That factor of a quantity which when multiplied into itself will produce that quantity;
thus, 3 is a
root
of 9, because 3 multiplied into itself produces 9; 3 is the cube
root
of 27
.
(e)
(Mus.)
The fundamental tone of any chord; the tone from whose harmonics, or overtones, a chord is composed.
Busby.
(f)
The lowest place, position, or part.
“Deep to the roots of hell.”
Milton.
“The roots of the mountains.”
Southey.
4.
(Astrol.)
The time which to reckon in making calculations.
When a
root
is of a birth yknowe [known].
Chaucer.
Aerial roots
.
(Bot.)
(a)
Small roots emitted from the stem of a plant in the open air, which, attaching themselves to the bark of trees, etc., serve to support the plant.
(b)
Large roots growing from the stem, etc., which descend and establish themselves in the soil. See Illust. of
Mangrove
.
–
Multiple primary root
(Bot.)
,
a name given to the numerous roots emitted from the radicle in many plants, as the squash.
–
Primary root
(Bot.)
,
the central, first-formed, main root, from which the rootlets are given off.
–
Root and branch
,
every part; wholly; completely;
as, to destroy an error
root and branch
.
–
Root-and-branch men
,
radical reformers; – a designation applied to the English Independents (1641). See Citation under
Radical
,
Noun.
, 2.
–
Root barnacle
(Zool.)
,
one of the Rhizocephala.
–
Root hair
(Bot.)
,
one of the slender, hairlike fibers found on the surface of fresh roots. They are prolongations of the superficial cells of the root into minute tubes.
Gray.
–
Root leaf
(Bot.)
,
a radical leaf.
See
Radical
,
Adj.
, 3
(b)
. –
Root louse
(Zool.)
,
any plant louse, or aphid, which lives on the roots of plants, as the Phylloxera of the grapevine.
See
Phylloxera
. –
Root of an equation
(Alg.)
,
that value which, substituted for the unknown quantity in an equation, satisfies the equation.
–
Root of a nail
(Anat.)
,
the part of a nail which is covered by the skin.
–
Root of a tooth
(Anat.)
,
the part of a tooth contained in the socket and consisting of one or more fangs.
–
Secondary roots
(Bot.)
,
roots emitted from any part of the plant above the radicle.
–
To strike root
,
To take root
,
to send forth roots; to become fixed in the earth, etc., by a root; hence, in general, to become planted, fixed, or established; to increase and spread; as, an opinion takes root.
“The bended twigs take root.”
Milton.

Root

(roōt)
,
Verb.
I.
[
imp. & p. p.
Rooted
;
p. pr. & vb. n.
Rooting
.]
1.
To fix the root; to enter the earth, as roots; to take root and begin to grow.
In deep grounds the weeds
root
deeper.
Mortimer.
2.
To be firmly fixed; to be established.
If any irregularity chanced to intervene and to cause misappehensions, he gave them not leave to
root
and fasten by concealment.
Bp. Fell.

Root

,
Verb.
T.
1.
To plant and fix deeply in the earth, or as in the earth; to implant firmly; hence, to make deep or radical; to establish; – used chiefly in the participle;
as,
rooted
trees or forests;
rooted
dislike.
2.
To tear up by the root; to eradicate; to extirpate; – with up, out, or away.
“I will go root away the noisome weeds.”
Shak.
The Lord
rooted
them out of their land . . . and cast them into another land.
Deut. xxix. 28.

Webster 1828 Edition

Root

ROOT

,
Noun.
[L. radix. A root is a shoot, and only a different application of rod, L. radius.]
1.
That part of a plant which enters and fixes itself in the earth, and serves to support the plant in an erect position, while by means of its fibrils it imbibes nutriment for the stem, branches and fruit.
2.
The part of any thing that resembles the roots of a plant in manner of growth; as the roots of a cancer, of teeth, &c.
3.
The bottom or lower part of any thing.
Deep to the roots of hell -
Burnet uses root of a mountain, but we now say base, foot or bottom. See Job 28:9.
4.
A plant whose root is esculent or the most useful part; as beets, carrots, &c.
5.
The original or cause of any thing.
The love of money is the root of all evil. 1Tim. 6.
6.
The first ancestor.
They were the roots out of which sprung two distinct people -
7.
In arithmetic and algebra, the root of any quantity is such a quantity as, when multiplied into itself a certain number of times, will exactly produce that quantity. Thus 2 is a root of 4, because when multiplied into itself, it exactly produces 4.
8.
Means of growth. 'He hath no root in himself;' that is, no soil in which grace can grow and flourish. Matt. 13.
9.
In music, the fundamental note of any chord.
Root of bitterness, in Scripture, any error, sin or evil that produces discord or immorality.
To take root, to become planted or fixed; or to be established; to increase and spread.
to take deep root, to be firmly planted or established; to be deeply impressed.

Definition 2024

Root

Root

See also: root

English

Proper noun

Root

  1. A surname​.
  2. A town in New York.
  3. A municipality in Lucerne, Switzerland.

Derived terms

German

Proper noun

Root n ‎(genitive Roots)

  1. A municipality in Lucerne, Switzerland.

root

root

See also: Root

English

Some roots (1)
Some visible tree roots (1)

Noun

root ‎(plural roots)

  1. The part of a plant, generally underground, that anchors and supports the plant body, absorbs and stores water and nutrients, and in some plants is able to perform vegetative reproduction.
    This tree's roots can go as deep as twenty metres underground.
  2. A root vegetable.
  3. The part of a tooth extending into the bone holding the tooth in place.
    Root damage is a common problem of overbrushing.
  4. The part of a hair under the skin that holds the hair in place.
    The root is the only part of the hair that is alive.
  5. The part of a hair near the skin that has not been dyed, permed, or otherwise treated.
    He dyed his hair black last month, so the grey roots can be seen.
  6. The primary source; origin.
    The love of money is the root of all evil.
    • John Locke
      They were the roots out of which sprang two distinct people.
  7. (arithmetic) Of a number or expression, a number which, when raised to a specified power, yields the specified number or expression.
    The cube root of 27 is 3.
  8. (arithmetic) A square root (understood if no power is specified; in which case, “the root of” is often abbreviated to “root”).
    Multiply by root 2.
  9. (analysis) A zero (of an equation).
  10. (graph theory, computing) The single node of a tree that has no parent.
  11. (linguistics) The primary lexical unit of a word, which carries the most significant aspects of semantic content and cannot be reduced into smaller constituents. Inflectional stems often derive from roots.
  12. (philology) A word from which another word or words are derived.
  13. (music) The fundamental tone of any chord; the tone from whose harmonics, or overtones, a chord is composed.
    (Can we find and add a quotation of Busby to this entry?)
  14. The lowest place, position, or part.
    • Milton
      deep to the roots of ****
    • Southey
      the roots of the mountains
  15. (computing) In UNIX terminology, the first user account with complete access to the operating system and its configuration, found at the root of the directory structure.
  16. (computing) The person who manages accounts on a UNIX system.

(Can we add an example for this sense?)

  1. (computing) The highest directory of a directory structure which may contain both files and subdirectories. (Can we add an example for this sense?)
  2. (slang) A ****, especially the base of a ****.
Synonyms
Antonyms
  • (zero of an equation): pole
Holonyms
  • (zero of a function): kernel
Derived terms
Translations

Verb

root ‎(third-person singular simple present roots, present participle rooting, simple past and past participle rooted)

  1. (computing, slang, transitive) To break into a computer system and obtain root access.
    We rooted his box and planted a virus on it.
  2. To fix the root; to enter the earth, as roots; to take root and begin to grow.
    • Mortimer
      In deep grounds the weeds root deeper.
    • 2014 October 26, Jeff Howell, “Is the Japanese knotweed threat exaggerated? Our troubleshooter calls for calm about Japanese knotweed in the garden – and moss on the roof [print version: Don't panic about an overhyped invasion, 25 October 2014, p. P13]”, in The Daily Telegraph (Property):
      Some old, underfired clay pantiles might be damaged by button mosses rooting in cracks and fissures. But most post-war tiles are hard enough to withstand a bit of moss growth.
  3. To be firmly fixed; to be established.
    • Bishop Fell
      If any irregularity chanced to intervene and to cause misapprehensions, he gave them not leave to root and fasten by concealment.

See also

  • (linguistics): stem

Etymology 2

From Middle English wrōten ‎(“to dig with the snout”), from Old English wrōtan, from Proto-Germanic *wrōtaną ‎(“to dig out, to root”), from Proto-Indo-European *red- ‎(“to scrape, to scratch, to gnaw”). Cognate with rodent. Cognate with Dutch wroeten.

Verb

root ‎(third-person singular simple present roots, present participle rooting, simple past and past participle rooted)

  1. (transitive) To turn up or dig with the snout.
    A pig roots the earth for truffles.
  2. (by extension) To seek favour or advancement by low arts or grovelling servility; to fawn.
  3. (intransitive) To rummage, to search as if by digging in soil.
    rooting about in a junk-filled drawer
  4. (transitive) To root out; to abolish.
    • Shakespeare
      I will go root away the noisome weeds.
    • Bible, Deuteronomy xxix. 28
      The Lord rooted them out of their land […] and cast them into another land.
  5. (Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, vulgar, slang) To have sexual intercourse.

(Can we add an example for this sense?)

  1. (horticulture, intransitive) To grow roots
    The cuttings are starting to root.
  2. (horticulture, transitive) To prepare, oversee, or otherwise cause the rooting of cuttings
    We rooted some cuttings last summer.
Usage notes
  • The Australian/New Zealand sexual sense is somewhat milder than **** but still quite coarse, and certainly not for polite conversation. The sexual sense will often be understood, unless care is taken with the context to make the rummage sense clear, or 'root through' or 'root around' is used. The past participle rooted is equivalent to fucked in the figurative sense of broken or tired, but rooting is only the direct verbal sense, not an all-purpose intensive like ****.
Synonyms
Derived terms
Translations
to turn up or dig with the snout - as pigs
  • Maori: kūtoro, ketu, ketuketu

Noun

root ‎(plural roots)

  1. (Australia, New Zealand, vulgar, slang) An act of sexual intercourse.
    Fancy a root?
  2. (Australia, New Zealand, vulgar, slang) A sexual partner.
Usage notes
  • The Australian/New Zealand sexual sense of root is somewhat milder than **** but still quite coarse, certainly not for polite conversation. The normal usage is to have a root or similar.
Synonyms
  • (act of sexual intercourse): **** (UK, US), shag (UK); see also Wikisaurus:sexual intercourse
  • (sexual partner): **** (US)
Translations

Etymology 3

Possibly an alteration of rout ‎(“to make a loud noise”), influenced by hoot

Verb

root ‎(third-person singular simple present roots, present participle rooting, simple past and past participle rooted)

  1. (intransitive, with for, US) To cheer to show support for. [late 19th century]
  2. (transitive, US) To hope for the success of. Rendered as 'root for'.
    I'm rooting for you, don't let me down!
Synonyms
Translations

Anagrams

German Low German

Etymology

From Old Saxon rōd, from Proto-Germanic *raudaz, from Proto-Indo-European *h₁rowdʰós < *h₁rewdʰ-. Compare Dutch rood, German rot, West Frisian read, English red, Danish rød.

Adjective

root ‎(comparative röder, superlative röödst)

  1. red

Declension

Comparative forms of root
gender singular plural
masculine feminine neuter all genders
predicative he is röder se is röder dat is röder se sünd röder
partitive een röders een röders wat röders allens röder
strong declension
(without article)		 nominative rödere rödere röder rödere
oblique rödern rödere röder rödere
weak declension
(with definite article)		 nominative de rödere de rödere dat rödere de rödern
oblique den rödern de rödere dat rödere de rödern
mixed declension
(with indefinite article)		 nominative en rödere en rödere en röder (keen) rödern
oblique en rödern en rödere en röder (keen) rödern

Portuguese

Etymology

Borrowing from English root.

Pronunciation

  • (Brazil) IPA(key): /ˈʁut͡ʃ/

Noun

root m (plural roots)

  1. (computing) root (user with complete access to the operating system)

Etymology

From Middle English root ‎(“the underground part of a plant”), from late Old English rōt, from Old Norse rót (Icelandic rót), from Proto-Germanic *wrōts, from Proto-Indo-European *wréh₂ds ‎(“root”); cognate with wort and radix.

Pronunciation

  • enPR: ro͞ot, IPA(key): /ɹuːt/
  • (Midwestern US) IPA(key): /ɹʊt/
  • Rhymes: -uːt
  • Homophone: route (Northern US, Eastern US, Commonwealth, Canada)

Similar Results