root

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Contents

English [edit]

Wikipedia has articles on:

Wikipedia

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

Pronunciation [edit]

  • enPR: ro͞ot, IPA: /ɹuːt/, X-SAMPA: /r\u:t/
  • (Midwestern US) IPA: /ɹʊt/
  • Audio (US)
    		(file)
  • Rhymes: -uːt
  • Homophone: route (Northern US, Eastern US, Commonwealth, Canada)

Etymology 1 [edit]

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.

Noun [edit]

root (plural roots)

  1. The part of a plant, generally underground, that absorbs water and nutrients.
    This tree's roots can go as deep as twenty metres underground.
  2. A root vegetable.
    • 1945, George Orwell, Animal Farm, chapter 6
      […] two fields which should have been sown with roots in the early summer were not sown because the ploughing had not been completed early enough.
  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.
    The love of money is the root of all evil.
  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 a function).
  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. (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.
  14. (computing) The person who manages accounts on a UNIX system.
  15. (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.
Synonyms [edit]
Holonyms [edit]
  • (zero of a function): kernel
Derived terms [edit]
Translations [edit]
part of a plant
root vegetable — see root vegetable
of a tooth
part of a hair under the skin
part of a hair near the skin
primary 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: node in a tree that has no parent
linguistic morphology: primary lexical unit of a word
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
computing: highest directory of a directory structure
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

Verb [edit]

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.

See also [edit]

  • (linguistics): stem

Etymology 2 [edit]

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

Verb [edit]

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.
  2. 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.
  3. (Australia, New Zealand, vulgar, slang) To have sexual intercourse.
Usage notes [edit]
  • 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, 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 fucking.
Synonyms [edit]
Derived terms [edit]
Translations [edit]
rummage, root out
coarse slang: have sexual intercourse

Noun [edit]

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 [edit]
  • The Australian/New Zealand sexual sense 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.
Synonyms [edit]
Translations [edit]
coarse slang: act of sexual intercourse
coarse slang: sexual partner

Etymology 3 [edit]

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

Verb [edit]

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' sb/sthg.
    • I'm rooting for you, don't let me down!'



Synonyms [edit]
Translations [edit]
cheer

Anagrams [edit]

Low German [edit]

Alternative forms [edit]

  • rot
  • (in some other dialects) rod

Etymology [edit]

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 [edit]

root

  1. (Low Prussian) red
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