n.
Pronunciation: ' rüt, ' ru ̇ t
Function: noun
Usage: often attrib
Etymology: Middle English, from Old English r ō t, from Old Norse; akin to Old English wyrt root, Latin radix, Greek rhiza
Date: 12th century
1 a : the usually underground part of a seed plant body that originates usually from the hypocotyl, functions as an organ of absorption, aeration, and food storage or as a means of anchorage and support, and differs from a stem especially in lacking nodes, buds, and leaves b : any subterranean plant part (as a true root or a bulb, tuber, rootstock, or other modified stem) especially when fleshy and edible
2 a : the part of a tooth within the socket also : any of the processes into which this part is often divided ― see TOOTH illustration b : the enlarged basal part of a hair within the skin c : the proximal end of a nerve d : the part of an organ or physical structure by which it is attached to the body <the root of the tongue>
3 a : something that is an origin or source (as of a condition or quality) <the love of money is the root of all evil ― 1 Tim 6:10 (AV)> b : one or more progenitors of a group of descendants ― usually used in plural c : an underlying support : BASIS d : the essential core : HEART ― often used in the phrase at root e : close relationship with an environment : TIE ― usually used in plural <they put down root s in a farming community>
4 a : a quantity taken an indicated number of times as an equal factor <2 is a fourth root of 16> b : a number that reduces an equation to an identity when it is substituted for one variable
5 a : the lower part : BASE b : the part by which an object is attached to something else
6 : the simple element inferred as the basis from which a word is derived by phonetic change or by extension (as composition or the addition of an affix or inflectional ending)
7 : the lowest tone of a chord (as C in a C minor chord) when the tones are arranged in ascending thirds
synonyms see ORIGIN
– root · ed \ ' rü-t ə d, ' ru ̇ - \ adjective
– root · ed · ness noun
– root · less \ ' rüt-l ə s, ' ru ̇ t- \ adjective
– root · less · ness noun
– root · like \ - ˌ l ī k \ adjective