tap-root

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noun Botany.

a main root descending downward from the radicle and giving off small lateral roots.

Origin:
1595–1605; tap² + root¹

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Collins

World English Dictionary

taproot (ˈtæpˌruːt)

—n
	the large single root of plants such as the dandelion, which grows vertically downwards and bears smaller lateral roots

[C17: from tap² + root¹]

'taprooted

—*adj*

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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00:10

Tap-root is always a great word to know.

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a gadget; dingus; thingumbob.

a chattering or flighty, light-headed person.

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Etymonline

Word Origin & History

taproot

c.1600, from tap (n.) + root (n.).

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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American Heritage

Science Dictionary

taproot

(tāp'r

t', -r

t') Pronunciation Key

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The main root in gymnosperms, eudicotyledons, and magnoliids, usually stouter than the lateral roots and growing straight downward from the stem. The taproot develops from the primary root. The taproot and its lateral roots penetrate deeper into the soil than the fibrous roots characteristic of monocotyledons. Compare fibrous root.

American Heritage

Cultural Dictionary

taproot definition

The single deep root of many deciduous trees that forms the basis for their root systems.

Note: Figuratively, a “taproot” is the source of an idea or work: “His childhood in Wales is the taproot of his poetry.”

Matching Quote

"The women of this century are neither idle nor indifferent. They are working with might and main to mitigate the evils which stare them in the face on every side, but much of their work is without knowledge. It is aimed at the effects, not the cause; it is plucking the spoiled fruit; it is lopping off the poisonous branches of the deadly upas tree, which but makes the root more vigorous in sending out new shoots in every direction. A right understanding of physiological law teaches us that the cause must be removed; the tree must be girdled; the tap-root must be severed. The tap-root of our social upas lies deep down at the very foundations of society. It is woman's dependence. It is woman's subjection. Hence, the first and only efficient work must be to emancipate woman from her enslavement."

-Susan B. Anthony

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tap-root

tap·root

taproot definition