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Root

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root¹

  • /ɹuːt/ UK
  • /ɹʉwt/ British, Southern, Standard
  • /ɹut/ US
  • /ɹʉːt/ Australia, New Zealand
  • /ɹʊt/ Midwestern US
  • /ɾʉt/ Scotland
  • /ɻʉt/ Northern Ireland

Sounds like route (some pronunciations), rute · Rhymes with -uːt, -ʊt

Where it comes from

PIE word

*wréh₂ds

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

Cognate with Scots ruit, rute (“root”), Danish rod (“root”), Faroese and Icelandic rót (“root”), Norwegian Bokmål, Norwegian Nynorsk, and Swedish rot (“root”).

noun roots

  1. countable, uncountable 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. countable, uncountable A root vegetable. [...] 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. countable, uncountable The part of a tooth extending into the bone holding the tooth in place. Root damage is a common problem of overbrushing.
  4. countable, uncountable 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. countable, uncountable 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. countable, figuratively, uncountable The primary source; origin. The love of money is the root of all evil.
  7. countable, uncountable The section of a wing immediately adjacent to the fuselage.
  8. countable, uncountable The bottom of the thread of a threaded object. The root diameter is the minor diameter of an external thread and the major diameter of an internal one.
  9. countable, uncountable 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.
  10. countable, uncountable A square root (understood if no power is specified; in which case, “the root of” is often abbreviated to “root”). Multiply by root 2.
  11. countable, uncountable A zero (of an equation).
  12. countable, uncountable The single node of a tree that has no parent.
  13. countable, uncountable 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. In ſo moche that if any verbe be of the thyꝛde coniugation / I ſet out all his rotes and tenſes[…]
  14. countable, uncountable A word from which another word or words are derived.
  15. countable, uncountable The fundamental tone of any chord; the tone from whose harmonics, or overtones, a chord is composed.
  16. countable, uncountable The lowest place, position, or part. deep to the roots of hell
  17. countable, uncountable 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; the person who manages accounts on a UNIX system. I have to log in as root before I do that.
  18. countable, uncountable The highest directory of a directory structure which may contain both files and subdirectories. I installed the files in the root directory.
  19. countable, slang, uncountable A penis, especially the base of a penis.

verb roots · rooting · rooted

  1. To grow roots; to enter the earth, as roots; to take root and begin to grow. The cuttings are starting to root.
  2. To prepare, oversee, or otherwise cause the rooting of cuttings. We rooted some cuttings last summer.
  3. To fix firmly; to establish. If any irregularity chanced to intervene and to cause misapprehensions, he gave them not leave to root and fasten by concealment.
  4. slang, transitive To get root or privileged access on (a computer system or mobile phone), often through bypassing some security mechanism. We rooted his box and planted a virus on it.

root²

  • /ɹuːt/ UK
  • /ɹʉwt/ British, Southern, Standard
  • /ɹut/ US
  • /ɹʉːt/ Australia, New Zealand
  • /ɹʊt/ Midwestern US
  • /ɾʉt/ Scotland
  • /ɻʉt/ Northern Ireland

Sounds like route (some pronunciations), rute · Rhymes with -uːt, -ʊt

Where it comes from

From Middle English wrōten (“to dig with the snout”), from Old English wrōtan, from Proto-West Germanic *wrōtan, from Proto-Germanic *wrōtaną (“to dig out, to root”). Related to Old English wrōt (“snout; trunk”). Loss of initial w- probably due to influence from the related noun (Etymology 1).

verb roots · rooting · rooted · wrout · rout

  1. ambitransitive To turn up or dig with the snout. A pig roots the earth for truffles.
  2. broadly To seek favour or advancement by low arts or grovelling servility; to fawn. Thou elvish-marked, abortive, rooting hog!
  3. intransitive To rummage; to search as if by digging in soil. rooting about in a junk-filled drawer
  4. intransitive Of a baby: to turn the head and open the mouth in search of food. When your baby is rooting, his head will turn to the side and he will open and close his mouth. If you put your finger in your baby's hand, she has a grasping reflex that makes her curl her fingers around yours and hold on.
  5. transitive To root out; to abolish. I will go root away the noisome weeds.
  6. To tug or pull at the reins aggressively by driving the head downwards while wearing a bit.
  7. Australia, Ireland, New Zealand, slang, vulgar To sexually penetrate.

noun roots · wrout · rout · wroot

  1. An act of rummaging or searching. It was always sensible to get off the busy streets if you were going to have a root inside your girlfriend's bra.
  2. Australia, New Zealand, slang, vulgar An act of sexual intercourse. Fancy a root?
  3. Australia, New Zealand, slang, vulgar A sexual partner.

root³

  • /ɹuːt/ UK
  • /ɹʉwt/ British, Southern, Standard
  • /ɹut/ US
  • /ɹʉːt/ Australia, New Zealand
  • /ɹʊt/ Midwestern US
  • /ɾʉt/ Scotland
  • /ɻʉt/ Northern Ireland

Sounds like route (some pronunciations), rute · Rhymes with -uːt, -ʊt

Where it comes from

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

verb roots · rooting · rooted

  1. US, intransitive To cheer (on); to show support (for) and hope for the success of. (See root for.) I'm rooting for you, don't let me down!

Root⁴

proper noun Rouet · Rout · Roots · Roote · Rootes

  1. An English surname from Middle English from a byname from Middle English rote (“glad”). In July this year, Mrs. Betty Root, who is in charge of the reading centre at Reading University's Institute of Education, reported 'that there are now more backward readers than ever, in spite of the large number of teaching methods now available'.
  2. An English surname originating as an occupation for a rote (medieval guitar)-player.
  3. A habitational surname from Dutch for someone living near a retting place (Dutch root, from roten (“to ret”)).
  4. A town in Lucerne canton, Switzerland.
  5. A township in Adams County, Indiana, United States.
  6. A town in Montgomery County, New York, United States; named for lawyer and politician Erastus Root.
  7. A river in Minnesota, United States; named as a translation of its native Dakota name.
  8. A river in Wisconsin, United States.

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