[1] : 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 

Root >> R Words
Root, definition of term: Root
root_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

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

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

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

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

Prop Root >> P Words
Prop Root, definition of term: Prop Root
prop+root_pag1.html

Hunger Strike >> H Words
Hunger Strike, definition of term: Hunger Strike
hunger+strike_pag1.html

Go Root >> G Words
Go Root, definition of term: Go Root
go+root_pag1.html

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