Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This

American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

root 1       (rōōt, rŏŏt)  Pronunciation Key  n.   The usually underground portion of a plant that lacks buds, leaves, or nodes and serves as support, draws minerals and water from the surrounding soil, and sometimes stores food. Any of various other underground plant parts, especially an underground stem such as a rhizome, corm, or tuber. The embedded part of an organ or structure such as a hair, tooth, or nerve, that serves as a base or support. A base or support: We snipped the wires at the roots. The condition of being settled and of belonging to a particular place or society. Often used in the plural: Our roots in this town go back a long way. roots The state of having or establishing an indigenous relationship with or a personal affinity for a particular culture, society, or environment: music with unmistakable African roots. The element that carries the main component of meaning in a word and provides the basis from which a word is derived by adding affixes or inflectional endings or by phonetic change. Such an element reconstructed for a protolanguage. Also called radical. A number that when multiplied by itself an indicated number of times forms a product equal to a specified number. For example, a fourth root of 4 is √2. Also called nth root. A number that reduces a polynomial equation in one variable to an identity when it is substituted for the variable. A number at which a polynomial has the value zero. The note from which a chord is built. Such a note occurring as the lowest note of a triad or other chord. An essential part or element; the basic core: I finally got to the root of the problem. A primary source; an origin. See Synonyms at origin. A progenitor or ancestor from which a person or family is descended. The condition of being settled and of belonging to a particular place or society. Often used in the plural: Our roots in this town go back a long way. roots The state of having or establishing an indigenous relationship with or a personal affinity for a particular culture, society, or environment: music with unmistakable African roots. The element that carries the main component of meaning in a word and provides the basis from which a word is derived by adding affixes or inflectional endings or by phonetic change. Such an element reconstructed for a protolanguage. Also called radical. A number that when multiplied by itself an indicated number of times forms a product equal to a specified number. For example, a fourth root of 4 is √2. Also called nth root. A number that reduces a polynomial equation in one variable to an identity when it is substituted for the variable. A number at which a polynomial has the value zero. The note from which a chord is built. Such a note occurring as the lowest note of a triad or other chord. Linguistics The element that carries the main component of meaning in a word and provides the basis from which a word is derived by adding affixes or inflectional endings or by phonetic change. Such an element reconstructed for a protolanguage. Also called radical. A number that when multiplied by itself an indicated number of times forms a product equal to a specified number. For example, a fourth root of 4 is √2. Also called nth root. A number that reduces a polynomial equation in one variable to an identity when it is substituted for the variable. A number at which a polynomial has the value zero. The note from which a chord is built. Such a note occurring as the lowest note of a triad or other chord. Mathematics A number that when multiplied by itself an indicated number of times forms a product equal to a specified number. For example, a fourth root of 4 is √2. Also called nth root. A number that reduces a polynomial equation in one variable to an identity when it is substituted for the variable. A number at which a polynomial has the value zero. The note from which a chord is built. Such a note occurring as the lowest note of a triad or other chord. Music The note from which a chord is built. Such a note occurring as the lowest note of a triad or other chord. v.   root·ed, root·ing, roots v.   intr. To grow roots or a root. To become firmly established, settled, or entrenched. To come into existence; originate. v.   tr. To cause to put out roots and grow. To implant by or as if by the roots. To furnish a primary source or origin to. To remove by or as if by the roots. Often used with up or out: "declared that waste and fraud will be vigorously rooted out of Government" (New York Times). [Middle English rot, from Old English rōt, from Old Norse; see wrād- in Indo-European roots.] root'er n.

American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

root 2       (rōōt, rŏŏt)  Pronunciation Key  v.   root·ed, root·ing, roots v.   tr. To dig with or as if with the snout or nose: Even a blind hog can root up an acorn. v.   intr. To dig in the earth with or as if with the snout or nose. To rummage for something: rooted around for a pencil in his cluttered office. [Middle English wroten, from Old English wrōtan.] root'er n.

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root 3       (rōōt, rŏŏt)  Pronunciation Key  intr.v.   root·ed, root·ing, roots To give audible encouragement or applause to a contestant or team; cheer. See Synonyms at applaud. To lend support to someone or something. [Possibly alteration of rout3.] root'er n.

American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Root       (rōōt)  Pronunciation Key  American lawyer and public official who served as U.S. secretary of war (1899-1904), secretary of state (1905-1909), and senator from New York (1909-1915). He won the 1912 Nobel Peace Prize.

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Root, John Wellborn 1850-1891.   American architect whose designs include the Monadnock Building (1889-1891) in Chicago, which employed steel beams along with traditional masonry-bearings walls.

Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
root  (n.)

Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
root  (v1.)

Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
root  (v2.)

WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This

root
noun
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.	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]
3.	(linguistics) the form of a word after all affixes are removed; "thematic vowels are part of the stem"
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] [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
verb
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]
5.	become settled or established and stable in one's residence or life style; "He finally settled down" [syn: settle]
6.	cause to take roots

American Heritage Dictionary of Idioms - Cite This Source - Share This

root

In addition to the idioms beginning with root, also see put down roots; take root.

The American Heritage Science Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

root       (rt, rt)  Pronunciation Key  A plant part that usually grows underground, secures the plant in place, absorbs minerals and water, and stores food manufactured by leaves and other plant parts. Roots grow in a root system. Eudicots and magnoliids have a central, longer, and larger taproot with many narrower lateral roots branching off, while monocots have a mass of threadlike fibrous roots, which are roughly the same length and remain close to the surface of the soil. In vascular plants, roots usually consist of a central cylinder of vascular tissue, surrounded by the pericycle and endodermis, then a thick layer of cortex, and finally an outer epidermis or (in woody plants) periderm. Only finer roots (known as feeder roots) actively take up water and minerals, generally in the uppermost meter of soil. These roots absorb minerals primarily through small epidermal structures known as root hairs. In certain plants, adventitious roots grow out from the stem above ground as aerial roots or prop roots, bending down into the soil, to facilitate the exchange of gases or increase support. Certain plants (such as the carrot and beet) have fleshy storage roots with abundant parenchyma in their vascular tissues. See also fibrous root, taproot. Any of various other plant parts that grow underground, especially an underground stem such as a corm, rhizome, or tuber. The part of a tooth that is embedded in the jaw and not covered by enamel. Mathematics A number that, when multiplied by itself a given number of times, produces a specified number. For example, since 2 × 2 × 2 × 2 = 16, 2 is a fourth root of 16. A solution to an equation. For example, a root of the equation x2 - 4 = 0 is 2, since 22 - 4 = 0.

American Heritage New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition - Cite This Source - Share This
root

In biology, the part of a plant that grows downward and holds the plant in place, absorbs water and minerals from the soil, and often stores food. The main root of a plant is called the primary root; others are called secondary roots. The hard tip is called the root cap, which protects the growing cells behind it. Root hairs increase the root's absorbing surface.

American Heritage New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition - Cite This Source - Share This
root

The part of a tooth below the gum. The root anchors the tooth to the jawbone.

American Heritage Stedman's Medical Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

root (r&oomacr;t, r&oobreve;t)
n.

1. The embedded part of an organ or structure, such as a hair, tooth, or nerve, serving as a base or support.
2. A primary source; an origin; radix.

Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Law - Cite This Source - Share This
Main Entry: root
Pronunciation: 'rüt, 'rut
Function: noun
in the civil law of Louisiana : DESCENDANT—by roots : PER STIRPES

Free On-line Dictionary of Computing - Cite This Source - Share This

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.
[The Jargon File]
(1994-10-27)
2. root directory.
(1996-11-21)
3. root node.
(1998-11-14)

Jargon File - Cite This Source - Share This

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.

Jargon File - Cite This Source - Share This

superuser

n. [Unix] Syn. {root}, {avatar}. This usage has spread to non-Unix environments; the superuser is any account with all {wheel} bits on. A more specific term than {wheel}.

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

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's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Root

Root\, v. i. [AS. wr[=o]tan; akin to wr[=o]t a snout, trunk, D. wroeten to root, G. r["u]ssel snout, trunk, proboscis, Icel. r[=o]ta 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.

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

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Root

Root\, v. t. To turn up or to dig out with the snout; as, the swine roots the earth.

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Root

Root\, n. [Icel. r[=o]t (for vr[=o]t); 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.

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

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.

They were the roots out of which sprang two distinct people. --Locke. (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.

The love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. --1 Tim. vi. 10 (rev. Ver.) (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. (f) The lowest place, position, or part. "Deep to the roots of hell." --Milton. "The roots of the mountains." --Southey.

4. (Astrol.) The time which to reckon in making calculations.

When a root is of a birth yknowe [known]. --Chaucer.

A["e]rial 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 (Zo["o]l.), 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 (Zo["o]l.), 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.

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Root

Root\ (r[=oo]t), 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.

In deep grounds the weeds root deeper. --Mortimer.

2. To be firmly fixed; to be established.

If any irregularity chanced to intervene and to cause misappehensions, he gave them not leave to root and fasten by concealment. --Bp. Fell.

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

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.

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.

The Lord rooted them out of their land . . . and cast them into another land. --Deut. xxix. 28.