root

Meanings

Noun

• 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.
• A root vegetable.
• The part of a tooth extending into the bone holding the tooth in place.
• The part of a hair under the skin that holds the hair in place.
• The part of a hair near the skin that has not been dyed, permed, or otherwise treated.
• The primary source; origin.
• The bottom of the thread of a threaded object.
• Of a number or expression, a number which, when raised to a specified power, yields the specified number or expression.
• A square root (understood if no power is specified; in which case, “the root of” is often abbreviated to “root”).
• A zero (of an equation).
• The single node of a tree that has no parent.
• 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.
• A word from which another word or words are derived.
• The fundamental tone of any chord; the tone from whose harmonics, or overtones, a chord is composed.
• The lowest place, position, or part.
• 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.
• The highest directory of a directory structure which may contain both files and subdirectories.
• A penis, especially the base of a penis.
• An act of sexual intercourse.
• A sexual partner.

Verb

• To grow roots; to enter the earth, as roots; to take root and begin to grow.
• To prepare, oversee, or otherwise cause the rooting of cuttings
• To be firmly fixed; to be established.
• To get root or privileged access on a computer system or mobile phone, often through bypassing some security mechanism.
• To turn up or dig with the snout.
• To seek favour or advancement by low arts or grovelling servility; to fawn.
• To rummage; to search as if by digging in soil.
• To root out; to abolish.
• To have sexual intercourse.
• To cheer (on); to show support (for) and hope for the success of.

Origin

• From Middle English rote, root, roote, from late Old English rōt, from Old Norse rót (Icelandic rót), from Proto-Germanic *wrōts, from Proto-Indo-European *wréh₂ds; cognate with wort, radish, and radix.
• From Middle English wroten ("to dig with the snout"), from Old English wrōtan, from Proto-Germanic *wrōtaną. Related to Old English wrōt. Loss of initial w- probably due to influence from the related noun (Etymology 1).
• Possibly an alteration of rout, influenced by hoot.