[1] : The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48

root \root\, v. t.
   to turn up or to dig out with the snout; as, the swine roots
   the earth.
   1913 webster

[2] : The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48

root \root\, n. icel. r=ot for vr=ot; akin to e. wort,
   and perhaps to root to turn up the earth. see wort.
   1. bot.
      a the underground portion of a plant, whether a true
          root or a tuber, a bulb or rootstock, as in the
          potato, the onion, or the sweet flag.
      b the descending, and commonly branching, axis of a
          plant, increasing in length by growth at its extremity
          only, not divided into joints, leafless and without
          buds, and having for its offices to fix the plant in
          the earth, to supply it with moisture and soluble
          matters, and sometimes to serve as a reservoir of
          nutriment for future growth. a true root, however, may
          never reach the ground, but may be attached to a wall,
          etc., as in the ivy, or may hang loosely in the air,
          as in some epiphytic orchids.
          1913 webster

   2. an edible or esculent root, especially of such plants as
      produce a single root, as the beet, carrot, etc.; as, the
      root crop.
      1913 webster

   3. that which resembles a root in position or function, esp.
      as a source of nourishment or support; that from which
      anything proceeds as if by growth or development; as, the
      root of a tooth, a nail, a cancer, and the like.
      specifically:
      a an ancestor or progenitor; and hence, an early race; a
          stem.
          1913 webster

                they were the roots out of which sprang two
                distinct people.                  --locke.
          1913 webster
      b a primitive form of speech; one of the earliest terms
          employed in language; a word from which other words
          are formed; a radix, or radical.
      c the cause or occasion by which anything is brought
          about; the source. "she herself . . . is root of
          bounty." --chaucer.
          1913 webster

                the love of money is a root of all kinds of
                evil.                             --1 tim. vi.
                                                  10 rev. ver.
          1913 webster
      d math. that factor of a quantity which when
          multiplied into itself will produce that quantity;
          thus, 3 is a root of 9, because 3 multiplied into
          itself produces 9; 3 is the cube root of 27.
      e mus. the fundamental tone of any chord; the tone
          from whose harmonics, or overtones, a chord is
          composed. --busby.
          1913 webster
      f the lowest place, position, or part. "deep to the
          roots of hell." --milton. "the roots of the
          mountains." --southey.
          1913 webster

   4. astrol. the time which to reckon in making calculations.
      1913 webster

            when a root is of a birth yknowe known. --chaucer.
      1913 webster

   aerial roots. bot.
      a small roots emitted from the stem of a plant in the
          open air, which, attaching themselves to the bark of
          trees, etc., serve to support the plant.
      b large roots growing from the stem, etc., which descend
          and establish themselves in the soil. see illust. of
          mangrove.

   multiple primary root bot., a name given to the numerous
      roots emitted from the radicle in many plants, as the
      squash.

   primary root bot., the central, first-formed, main root,
      from which the rootlets are given off.

   root and branch, every part; wholly; completely; as, to
      destroy an error root and branch.

   root-and-branch men, radical reformers; -- a designation
      applied to the english independents 1641. see citation
      under radical, n., 2.

   root barnacle zool., one of the rhizocephala.

   root hair bot., one of the slender, hairlike fibers found
      on the surface of fresh roots. they are prolongations of
      the superficial cells of the root into minute tubes.
      --gray.

   root leaf bot., a radical leaf. see radical, a., 3
      b .

   root louse zool., any plant louse, or aphid, which lives
      on the roots of plants, as the phylloxera of the
      grapevine. see phylloxera.

   root of an equation alg., that value which, substituted
      for the unknown quantity in an equation, satisfies the
      equation.

   root of a nail
      anat., the part of a nail which is covered by the skin.
              

   root of a tooth anat., the part of a tooth contained in
      the socket and consisting of one or more fangs.

   secondary roots bot., roots emitted from any part of the
      plant above the radicle.

   to strike root, to take root, to send forth roots; to
      become fixed in the earth, etc., by a root; hence, in
      general, to become planted, fixed, or established; to
      increase and spread; as, an opinion takes root. "the
      bended twigs take root." --milton.
      1913 webster
see also:
wort aerial roots mangrove multiple primary root primary root root and branch 
root-and-branch men radical root barnacle root hair root leaf 
root louse phylloxera root of an equation root of a nail root of a tooth 
secondary roots to strike root to take root 

[3] : The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48

root \root\, v. i. as. wr=otan; akin to wr=ot a snout,
   trunk, d. wroeten to root, g. r"ussel snout, trunk,
   proboscis, icel. r=ota to root, and perhaps to l. rodere to
   gnaw e. rodent or to e. root, n.
   1. to turn up the earth with the snout, as swine.
      1913 webster

   2. hence, to seek for favor or advancement by low arts or
      groveling servility; to fawn servilely.
      1913 webster

[4] : The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48

root \root\ r=oot, v. i. imp.  p. p. rooted; p. pr. 
   vb. n. rooting.
   1. to fix the root; to enter the earth, as roots; to take
      root and begin to grow.
      1913 webster

            in deep grounds the weeds root deeper. --mortimer.
      1913 webster

   2. to be firmly fixed; to be established.
      1913 webster

            if any irregularity chanced to intervene and to
            cause misappehensions, he gave them not leave to
            root and fasten by concealment.       --bp. fell.
      1913 webster
see also:
rooted rooting 

[5] : The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48

root \root\, v. i. cf. rout to roar.
   to shout for, or otherwise noisly applaud or encourage, a
   contestant, as in sports; hence, to wish earnestly for the
   success of some one or the happening of some event, with the
   superstitious notion that this action may have efficacy; --
   usually with for; as, the crowd rooted for the home team.
   slang or cant, u. s.
   webster 1913 suppl.
see also:
rout 

[6] : The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48

root \root\, v. t.
   1. to plant and fix deeply in the earth, or as in the earth;
      to implant firmly; hence, to make deep or radical; to
      establish; -- used chiefly in the participle; as, rooted
      trees or forests; rooted dislike.
      1913 webster

   2. to tear up by the root; to eradicate; to extirpate; --
      with up, out, or away. "i will go root away the noisome
      weeds." --shak.
      1913 webster

            the lord rooted them out of their land . . . and
            cast them into another land.          --deut. xxix.
                                                  28.
      1913 webster

[7] : WordNet (r) 2.0

root
     n 1: botany the usually underground organ that lacks buds or
          leaves or nodes; absorbs water and mineral salts;
          usually it anchors the plant to the ground
     2: linguistics the form of a word after all affixes are
        removed; "thematic vowels are part of the stem" syn: root
        word, base, stem, theme, radical
     3: the place where something begins, where it springs into
        being; "the italian beginning of the renaissance";
        "jupiter was the origin of the radiation"; "pittsburgh is
        the source of the ohio river"; "communism's russian root"
        syn: beginning, origin, rootage, source
     4: a number that when multiplied by itself some number of times
        equals a given number
     5: the set of values that give a true statement when
        substituted into an equation syn: solution
     6: someone from whom you are descended but usually more remote
        than a grandparent syn: ancestor, ascendant, ascendent,
         antecedent ant: descendant
     7: a simple form inferred as the common basis from which
        related words in several languages can be derived by
        linguistic processes syn: etymon
     8: the part of a tooth that is embedded in the jaw and serves
        as support syn: tooth root
     v 1: take root and begin to grow; "this plant roots quickly"
     2: come into existence, originate; "the problem roots in her
        depression"
     3: plant by the roots
     4: dig with the snout; "the pig was rooting for truffles" syn:
         rout, rootle
     5: take sides with; align oneself with; show strong sympathy
        for; "we all rooted for the home team"; "i'm pulling for
        the underdog"; "are you siding with the defender of the
        title?" syn: side, pull
     6: become settled or established and stable in one's residence
        or life style; "he finally settled down" syn: settle, take
        root, steady down, settle down
     7: cause to take roots
see also:
root word base stem theme radical beginning 
origin rootage source solution ancestor 
ascendant ascendent antecedent descendant etymon 
tooth root rout rootle side pull 
settle take root steady down settle down 

[8] : Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0

260 moby thesaurus words for "root":
   ic analysis, accidence, acclaim, affix, affixation, allomorph,
   ancestors, anchor, antecedents, applaud, base, basis,
   beat the bushes, bed, bed on, bedrock, beginning, birthplace,
   boost, bottom, bottom on, bound morpheme, bring to light, bud,
   build on, bulb, bulbil, burgeon, burrow, burst forth, catch, cause,
   cheer, cheer on, clap, clap the hands, cognate, commencement,
   completely, conception, confirm, conjugation, core, corm, cradle,
   cutting, declension, deep-dye, define, delve, derivation,
   derivative, descent, destroy, develop, difference of form, dig,
   dig out, dig up, discover, doublet, drive on, egg on, eliminate,
   embed, enclitic, encore, encourage, engraft, engrave, entirely,
   entrench, eponym, eradicate, essentiality, establish, etch, etymon,
   explore, exterminate, extirpate, family, family tree, fatherland,
   ferret, find, fix, flourish, footing, forage, forebears,
   forefathers, formative, found, found on, foundation, fount,
   fountain, fountainhead, free form, frisk, gemmate, genealogy,
   genesis, germinate, give a hand, go through, goad on, grass roots,
   ground, ground on, groundwork, grow, grow rank, hail, hasten on,
   head, hear it for, heart, heritage, hie on, hound on, house, hunt,
   hurry on, imbed, immediate constituent analysis, impact, implant,
   impress, imprint, inception, infix, infixation, inflection,
   infrastructure, ingrain, inscribe, jam, leaf, leaf out, leave,
   lineage, lodge, look around, look round, look through, luxuriate,
   marrow, morph, morpheme, morphemic analysis, morphemics,
   morphology, morphophonemics, motherland, nose, nose around, origin,
   original, origination, origins, overgrow, overrun, pack, paradigm,
   pedigree, pith, plant, poke, poke around, predecessors, prefix,
   prefixation, primitive, print, proclitic, provenance, provenience,
   pry, pullulate, put forth, put forth leaves, put out buds, quick,
   quintessence, radical, radically, radicle, radix, ransack,
   research, rhizome, riot, rise, rock bottom, root and branch,
   root for, root on, root out, root up, roots, rootstock, rummage,
   search, search through, seat, set, set in, set on, settle, shoot,
   shoot up, smell around, soul, source, speed on, spread, sprout,
   sprout up, spur on, stamp, stem, stereotype, stick, stick fast,
   stock, strike root, stuff, substance, substratum, suffix,
   suffixation, support, take root, tap, taproot, theme, thrive,
   totally, tuber, tubercle, turn up, uncover, undergird, underlie,
   underpinning, unearth, uproot, upspear, upsprout, urge on, utterly,
   vegetate, wedge, well, wellhead, whip on, wholly, word-formation

[9] : Jargon File (4.3.1, 29 Jun 2001)

root n. unix 1. the superuser account with user name `root' that
   ignores permission bits, user number 0 on a unix system. the term
   avatar is also used. 2. the top node of the system directory
   structure; historically the home directory of the root user, but
   probably named after the root of an inverted tree. 3. by extension,
   the privileged system-maintenance login on any os. see root mode, go
   root, see also wheel.


see also:
superuser avatar root mode go root wheel 

[10] : The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing (27 SEP 03)

root
     
        1.  the unix superuser account with
        user name "root" and user id 0 that overrides file
        permissions.  the term avatar is also used.  by extension,
        the privileged system-maintenance login on any operating
        system.
     
        see root mode, go root, wheel.
     
        jargon file
     
        1994-10-27
     
        2.  root directory.
     
        1996-11-21
     
        3.  root node.
     
        1998-11-14
     
     
see also:
unix superuser avatar operating system root mode go root 
wheel jargon file root directory root node 

Root >> R Words
Root, definition of term: Root
root_pag1.html

Root Cellar >> R Words
Root Cellar, definition of term: Root Cellar
root+cellar_pag1.html

Root Cap >> R Words
Root Cap, definition of term: Root Cap
root+cap_pag1.html

Root Directory >> R Words
Root Directory, definition of term: Root Directory
root+directory_pag1.html

Root For >> R Words
Root For, definition of term: Root For
root+for_pag1.html

Root Out >> R Words
Root Out, definition of term: Root Out
root+out_pag1.html

Root Hair >> R Words
Root Hair, definition of term: Root Hair
root+hair_pag1.html

Root Canal >> R Words
Root Canal, definition of term: Root Canal
root+canal_pag1.html

Root Beer >> R Words
Root Beer, definition of term: Root Beer
root+beer_pag1.html

Mandrake Root >> M Words
Mandrake Root, definition of term: Mandrake Root
mandrake+root_pag1.html

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