root

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition

1. 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.
2. n. Any of various other underground plant parts, especially an underground stem such as a rhizome, corm, or tuber.
3. n. The embedded part of an organ or structure such as a hair, tooth, or nerve, that serves as a base or support.
4. n. A base or support: We snipped the wires at the roots.
5. n. An essential part or element; the basic core: I finally got to the root of the problem.
6. n. A primary source; an origin. See Synonyms at origin.
7. n. A progenitor or ancestor from which a person or family is descended.
8. n. 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.
9. n. 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.
10. n. 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.
11. n. Linguistics Such an element reconstructed for a protolanguage. Also called radical.
12. n. 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.
13. n. Mathematics A number that reduces a polynomial equation in one variable to an identity when it is substituted for the variable.
14. n. Mathematics A number at which a polynomial has the value zero.
15. n. Music The note from which a chord is built.
16. n. Music Such a note occurring as the lowest note of a triad or other chord.
17. v. To grow roots or a root.
18. v. To become firmly established, settled, or entrenched.
19. v. To come into existence; originate.
20. v. To cause to put out roots and grow.
21. v. To implant by or as if by the roots.
22. v. To furnish a primary source or origin to.
23. v. 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).
24. idiom. root and branch Utterly; completely: The organization has been transformed root and branch by its new leaders.
25. v. To dig with or as if with the snout or nose: Even a blind hog can root up an acorn.
26. v. To dig in the earth with or as if with the snout or nose.
27. v. To rummage for something: rooted around for a pencil in his cluttered office.
28. v. To give audible encouragement or applause to a contestant or team; cheer. See Synonyms at applaud.
29. v. To lend support to someone or something.

Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia

1. n. In botany, a part of the body of a plant which, typically, grows downward into the soil, fixes the plant, and absorbs nutriment. A root may be either a descending axis originating in germination from the lower end of the caulicle, and persisting as a tap-root, or one of a group of such roots—in either case called primary; or a branch of such a root, the ultimate ramifications forming rootlets or root-fibrils; or a similar organ developed from some other part of the plant (adventitious), sometimes with special functions—in the latter cases called secondary. The root differs from the stem in having no nodes and internodes, its branches appearing in no regular order, and, normally, in giving rise to no other organs, though, as in the pear and poplar, it may develop buds and thence suckers. In mode of growth the root is peculiar in elongating only or chiefly at the extremity, and at the same time in not building upon the naked apex, but in a stratum (the growing-point) just short of the apex under the protection of a cover or sheath—the root-cap (which see). Aside from securing the plant in position, the ordinary function of roots is the absorption of water with nutritive matter in solution from the soil, or, in the case of aquatics, wholly or partly from the water. This office is performed by imbibition through the cell-walls of the fresher root-surface, except that of the extreme tip, the absorbent surface being greatly increased by the production of root-hairs. (See root-hair.) Many roots, however—chiefly the tap-roots of biennials—serve the special purpose of storing nutriment for a second season, becoming thus much enlarged, as in the beet and turnip. Roots of this class must be distinguished from the rhizome, bulb, etc., which, though subterranean, are modifications of the stem. Numerous plants put forth aërial roots, eventually reaching the soil (banian, mangrove), serving as means of climbing (ivy, poison-ivy), or, in the case of epiphytes, part fastening the plant to a bough, part free in the air, whence they are capable of absorbing some moisture. The roots of a parasitic plant penetrate the tissues of the host-plant and draw their nutritive matter from it. True roots are confined to flowering plants and vascular cryptogams, the rhizoids of many lower plants in part taking their place. See annual, biennial, perennial. See also cuts under ivy, monocotyledonous, prothallium, and rhizome.
2. n. Specifically, an esculent root, as a beet or a carrot.
3. n. That which resembles a root in shape, position, or function; that from which anything springs. The part of anything that resembles the root of a plant in manner of growth, or as a source of nourishment, support, or origin; specifically, in anatomy and zoology, some part or organ like or likened to the root of a plant; the deepest or most fixed part of something embedded in another; a base, bottom, or supporting part: technically called radix: as, the root of a finger-nail or a tooth; the root of a nerve or a hair: often used in the plural, though the thing in fact is singular: as, to drag out a nail by the roots.
4. n. Hence— The bottom or lower part of anything; foundation.
5. n. The origin or cause of anything; source.
6. n. The basis of anything; ground; support.
7. n. In philology, an elementary notional syllable; that part of a word which conveys its essential meaning, as distinguished from the formative parts by which this meaning is modified; an element in a language, whether arrived at by analysis of words or existing uncombined, in which no formative element is demonstrable: thus, true may be regarded as the root of un-tru-th-ful-ness.
8. n. The first ancestor; an early progenitor.
9. n. In mathematics: The root of any quantity is such a quantity as, when multiplied into itself a certain number of times, will exactly produce that quantity. Thus, 2 is a root of 4, because when multiplied into itself it exactly produces 4. Power and root are correlative terms: the power is named from the number of the factors employed in the multiplication, and the root is named from the power. Thus, if a quantity be multiplied once by itself, the product is called the second power, or square, and the quantity itself the square root, or second root of the product; if the quantity be multiplied twice by itself, we obtain the third power, or cube, and the quantity is the cube root or third root; and so on. The character marking a root is √ (a modification of r for radix, which has been used probably since the middle of the sixteenth century), and the particular root is indicated by placing above the sign the figure which expresses the number of the root, which figure is called the index of the root. Thus, √16 indicates the fourth root of 16 (that is, 2), and √4 the square root of 4 (that is, 2)—the index in the case of the square root being usually omitted. The same is the case with algebraic quantities, as √ (a + 3ab + 3ab + b) = a + b. See power, index, involution, evolution. The root of an equation is a quantity which, substituted for the unknown quantity, satisfies the equation: thus, 2 + √2 is a root of the equation x—5x + 6x—2 = 0; for the sum of which is 0. Another root of the same equation is obviously 1; and the third root will be found to be 2—√2.
10. n. In music: With reference to a compound tone or a series of harmonics, the fundamental, generator, or ground tone. With reference to a chord, the fundamental tone—that is, the tone from whose harmonics the tones of the chord are selected, or the tone on which they are conceived to be built up. Theorists are not agreed as to what constitutes a root of a chord, or whether a chord may have two roots; and in many cases the term is used merely to designate the lowest tone of a chord when arranged in its simplest or normal position.
11. n. In chronology, the earliest time at which an event can take place, as a movable feast; also, the time at which any progressive change begins.
12. n. In astrology, the state of things at the beginning of any time; particularly, the figure of the heavens at the instant of birth, specifically called the root of nativity, a term also applied to the horoscope, or ascendant. Chaucer, in the passage below, has in mind the introduction to Zahel's treatise on Elections, where it is stated that elections of fortunate times for undertakings are not much to be depended upon, except in the case of kings, who have their roots of nativity (that is, in their case there is no doubt as to the precise aspect of the heavens at the moment of birth), which roots strengthen the inferences to be drawn, especially (at least so Chaucer understands the words) in the case of a journey. When the horoscope of birth was not known, astrologers were accustomed to determine elections chiefly by the place and phase of the moon, whose influence was, however, considered debile. It appears that in the case of the lady of the story, the moon was impedited in the root of nativity (see Almansor, Prop. 35: “Cum in radice nativitatis impedietur luna,” etc.), and Mars, a planet most unfavorable to journeys, was at azir, or lord of the ascendant, at her birth, and was in the fourth, or darkest, house; so that the omens of the journey were as gloomy as they well could be.
13. n. In hydraulic engineering, the end of a weir or dam where it is joined to the natural bank.
14. n. In horticulture, a growing plant with its root; also, a tuber or bulb.
15. n. Gross amount; sum total.
16. n. In English history, the extremists of the Parliamentary party who about 1641 favored the overthrow of Episcopacy; also, the policy of these extremists.
17. n. To become fixed; become established.
18. n. (See also bloodroot, bowman's-root, cancer-root, colic-root, musk-root, orris-root, rattlesnake-root, and snakeroot.)
19. To fix the root; strike root; enter the earth, as roots.
20. To be firmly fixed; be established.
21. To fix by the root or as if by roots; plant and fix deep in the earth: as, a tree roots itself; a deeply rooted tree.
22. To plant deeply; impress deeply and durably: used chiefly in the past participle.
23. To dig or burrow in with the snout; turn up with the snout, as a swine.
24. To tear up or out as if by rooting; eradicate; extirpate; remove or destroy utterly; exterminate: generally with up, out, or away.
25. To turn up the earth with the snout, as swine.
26. To push with the snout.
27. n. A form of rut.
28. A dialectal form of rot.
29. n. In mech., the part of a gear-tooth where it joins the rim of the wheel; the base of a tooth.
30. n. The sweet-flag.
31. To work hard for the success of some person or thing: as, to root for one's party (at an election); specifically, in base-ball, etc., to exert oneself for the success of one's side, usually by uproarious applause intended partly to disconcert the other side.

Wiktionary

1. n. The part of a plant, generally underground, that absorbs water and nutrients.
2. n. A root vegetable.
3. n. The part of a tooth extending into the bone holding the tooth in place.
4. n. The part of a hair under the skin that holds the hair in place.
5. n. The part of a hair near the skin that has not been dyed, permed, or otherwise treated.
6. n. The primary source.
7. n. arithmetic Of a number or expression, a number which, when raised to a specified power, yields the specified number or expression.
8. n. arithmetic A square root (understood if no power is specified; in which case, “the root of” is often abbreviated to “root”).
9. n. analysis A zero (of a function).
10. n. graph theory, computing The single node of a tree that has no parent.
11. n. linguistics The primary lexical unit of a word, which carries the most significant aspects of semantic content and cannot be reduced into smaller constituents. Inflectional stems often derive from roots.
12. n. philology A word from which another word or words are derived.
13. n. computing In UNIX terminology, the first user account with complete access to the operating system and its configuration, found at the root of the directory structure.
14. n. computing The person who manages accounts on a UNIX system.
15. n. computing The highest directory of a directory structure which may contain both files and subdirectories. In PC-based systems the number of entries in a root directory may be limited whereas the number entries in subdirectories is unlimited.
16. v. computing, slang, transitive To break into a computer system and obtain root access.
17. v. To rummage, to search as if by digging in soil.
18. v. To root out; to abolish.
19. v. Australia, New Zealand, vulgar, slang To have sexual intercourse.
20. n. Australia, New Zealand, vulgar, slang An act of sexual intercourse.
21. n. Australia, New Zealand, vulgar, slang A sexual partner.
22. v. transitive, US To hope for the success of.

GNU Webster's 1913

1. v. To turn up the earth with the snout, as swine.
2. v. Hence, to seek for favor or advancement by low arts or groveling servility; to fawn servilely.
3. v. To turn up or to dig out with the snout.
4. n. 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.
5. n. 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.
6. n. An edible or esculent root, especially of such plants as produce a single root, as the beet, carrot, etc..
7. n. 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.
8. n. An ancestor or progenitor; and hence, an early race; a stem.
9. n. 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.
10. n. The cause or occasion by which anything is brought about; the source.
11. n. (Math.) That factor of a quantity which when multiplied into itself will produce that quantity.
12. n. (Mus.) The fundamental tone of any chord; the tone from whose harmonics, or overtones, a chord is composed.
13. n. The lowest place, position, or part.
14. n. (Astrol.) The time which to reckon in making calculations.
15. v. To fix the root; to enter the earth, as roots; to take root and begin to grow.
16. v. To be firmly fixed; to be established.
17. v. Slang or Cant, U. S. 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.
18. v. 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
19. v. To tear up by the root; to eradicate; to extirpate; -- with up, out, or away.

WordNet 3.0

1. n. (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. v. plant by the roots
3. v. dig with the snout
4. n. a simple form inferred as the common basis from which related words in several languages can be derived by linguistic processes
5. n. the set of values that give a true statement when substituted into an equation
6. v. cause to take roots
7. v. take root and begin to grow
8. n. the part of a tooth that is embedded in the jaw and serves as support
9. n. (linguistics) the form of word after all affixes are removed
10. n. someone from whom you are descended (but usually more remote than a grandparent)
11. n. a number that, when multiplied by itself some number of times, equals a given number
12. v. come into existence, originate
13. v. become settled or established and stable in one's residence or life style
14. n. the place where something begins, where it springs into being