rhi·zome

[rahy-zohm]
noun Botany.
a rootlike subterranean stem, commonly horizontal in position, that usually produces roots below and sends up shoots progressively from the upper surface.

Origin:
1835–45; < Neo-Latin rhizoma < Greek rhízōma root, stem, noun of result from rhizoûn to fix firmly, take root, derivative of rhíza root1

rhi·zom·a·tous [rahy-zom-uh-tuhs, -zoh-muh-] , adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Rhizomatous is always a great word to know.
So is quincunx. Does it mean:
an arrangement of five objects, as trees, in a square or rectangle, one at each corner and one in the middle.
a screen or mat covered with a dark material for shielding a camera lens from excess light or glare.
Collins
World English Dictionary
rhizome (ˈraɪzəʊm) [Click for IPA pronunciation guide]
 
n
rootstock, Also called: rootstalk a thick horizontal underground stem of plants such as the mint and iris whose buds develop new roots and shoots
 
[C19: from New Latin rhizoma, from Greek, from rhiza a root]
 
rhizomatous
 
adj

rhizome (ˈraɪzəʊm) [Click for IPA pronunciation guide]
 
n
rootstock, Also called: rootstalk a thick horizontal underground stem of plants such as the mint and iris whose buds develop new roots and shoots
 
[C19: from New Latin rhizoma, from Greek, from rhiza a root]
 
rhizomatous
 
adj

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History

rhizome
1845, from Gk. rhizoma "mass of tree roots," from rhizoun "cause to strike root," from rhiza "root," probably from PIE *wrad- "branch, root" (cf. L. radix "root," O.N. rot "root," O.E. wyrt "plant, herb;" see radish).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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American Heritage
Science Dictionary
rhizome   (rī'zōm')  Pronunciation Key 


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A plant stem that grows horizontally under or along the ground and often sends out roots and shoots. New plants develop from the shoots. Ginger, iris, and violets have rhizomes. Also called rootstock. Compare bulb, corm, runner, tuber.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2002. Published by Houghton Mifflin. All rights reserved.
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Example sentences from the web
It is a rhizomatous herbaceous perennial plant growing in bogs and ponds.
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