root

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[edit] English

[edit] Pronunciation

  • enPR: ro͞ot, IPA: /ruːt/, SAMPA: /ru:t/
  • (Midwestern US) IPA: /rʊt/
  • Audio (US)
    		(file)
  • Rhymes: -uːt
  • Homophone: route (Northern US, Eastern US, Commonwealth, Canada)

[edit] Etymology 1

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 *werh₂d-, *wreh₂d-, *wr̥h₂d- (“root”); cognate with wort and radix.

[edit] Noun

root (plural roots)

  1. The part of a plant, generally underground, that absorbs water and nutrients.
    Some roots (2)
    This tree's roots can go as deep as twenty metres underground.
  2. The part of a tooth extending into the bone holding the tooth in place.
    Root damage is a common problem of overbrushing.
  3. 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.
  4. 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.
  5. The primary source.
    The love of money is the root of all evil.
  6. (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.
  7. (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.
  8. (analysis) A zero (of a function).
  9. (graph theory, computing) The single node of a tree that has no parent.
  10. (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.
  11. (philology) A word from which another word or words are derived.
  12. (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.
  13. (computing) The person who manages accounts on a UNIX system.
  14. (computing) The highest directory of a directory structure which may contain both files and subdirectories. In PC-based systems the number of entries in a root directory may be limited whereas the number entries in subdirectories is unlimited.
  15. (Australian, New Zealand, vulgar, slang) An act of sexual intercourse.
    Fancy a root?
[edit] Synonyms
[edit] Holonyms
  • (zero of a function): kernel
[edit] Derived terms
[edit] Translations
of a plant
of a tooth
of a hair
source
arithmetic: number or expression which when raised to a power gives the specified number or expression
arithmetic: square root — see square root
analysis: zero of a function
graph theory: a designated node in a tree
linguistic
philology: word from which another word or words are derived
computing: user account at the root of the directory structure
person who manages accounts on a UNIX system
The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Help:How to check translations.
Translations to be checked

[edit] 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.

[edit] See also

  • (linguistics): stem

[edit] Etymology 2

From Middle English wrōten, ‘to dig with the snout’, from Old English wrōtan, from Proto-Germanic *wrōtanan, ‘to dig out, to root’, from Proto-Indo-European *red-, ‘to scrape, to scratch, to gnaw’; cognate with rodent. Cognate with Dutch wroeten.

[edit] Verb

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

  1. To rummage, to search as if by digging in soil, to root out.
  2. (US) To cheer to show support for a sports team, etc.
  3. (Australian, New Zealand, vulgar, slang) To have sexual intercourse.
[edit] Usage notes
  • The Australian/New Zealand sexual sense is somewhat milder than fuck but still quite coarse, 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. The US sports sense, so to speak of “rooting for the team” can cause amusement among Australians and New Zealanders. The past participle rooted is equivalent to fucked in the figurative sense of broken or tired, but rooting is only the direct verbal sense, it isn’t an all-purpose intensive like fucking.
[edit] Synonyms
[edit] Derived terms
[edit] Translations
rummage, root out
cheer
coarse slang: have sexual intercourse

[edit] Noun

root (plural roots)

  1. (Australian, New Zealand coarse slang) An act of sexual intercourse.
  2. (Australian, New Zealand coarse slang) A sexual partner.
[edit] Usage notes
  • The Australian/New Zealand sexual senses of root is somewhat milder than fuck but still quite coarse, certainly not for polite conversation. The normal usage is to have a root or similar.
[edit] Synonyms
[edit] Translations
coarse slang: act of sexual intercourse
coarse slang: sexual partner

[edit] Anagrams

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