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   root

   /ruːt/

   noun

   • 1. the part of a plant which attaches it to the ground or to a support, typically underground, conveying water and nourishment to the rest of the plant via numerous branches and fibres: "cacti have deep and spreading roots" Similar radiclerhizomerootstocktubertap rootrootletrare:radicel
   • ▪ the persistent underground part of a plant, especially when fleshy and enlarged and used as a vegetable, e.g. a turnip or carrot: "you should never wash roots before storing"
   • ▪ any plant grown for its root: "roots like beet and carrot cannot be transplanted"
   • ▪ the embedded or basal part of a bodily organ or structure such as a hair, tooth, or nail: "her hair was fairer at the roots"
   • ▪ the part of a thing attaching it to a greater or more fundamental whole; the end or base: "a little lever near the root of the barrel"
   • 2. the basic cause, source, or origin of something: "money is the root of all evil" Similar sourceoriginstarting pointseedgermbeginningsgenesiscausereasonbasebasisfoundationbottomseatfundamentalcorenucleusheartkernelnubessencefons et origoliterary:fountainheadwellspringfountrare:radix
   • ▪ family, ethnic, or cultural origins: "it's always nice to return to my roots" Similar originsbeginningsfamilyancestorspredecessorsheritagebirthplacenative landmotherlandfatherlandhomelandnative countrynative soil
   • ▪ denoting or relating to something from a particular ethnic or cultural origin, especially a non-Western one: "roots music"
   • ▪ (in biblical use) a scion; a descendant: "the root of David"
   • ▪ a morpheme, not necessarily surviving as a word in itself, from which words have been made by the addition of prefixes or suffixes or by other modification: "many European words stem from this linguistic root"
   • ▪ the fundamental note of a chord: "in the sequence the roots of the chords drop by fifths"
   • 3. a number or quantity that when multiplied by itself, typically a specified number of times, gives a specified number or quantity.
   • ▪ short for square root
   • ▪ a value of an unknown quantity satisfying a given equation: "the roots of the equation differ by an integer"
   • 4. a user account with full and unrestricted access to a system: "make sure that these files can only be accessed by the root user"
   • 5. an act or instance of having sex. vulgar slang Australian, New Zealand, Irish
   • ▪ a sexual partner of a specified ability.

   verb

   • 1. cause (a plant or cutting) to grow roots: "root your own cuttings from stock plants" Similar plantbed outsow
   • ▪ (of a plant or cutting) establish roots: "large trees had rooted in the canal bank" Similar take rootgrow rootsbecome establishedestablishstriketake
   • 2. establish deeply and firmly: "vegetarianism is rooted in Indian culture"
   • ▪ have as an origin or cause: "the Latin verb is rooted in an Indo-European word"
   • 3. cause (someone) to stand immobile through fear or amazement: "George was rooted to the spot in disbelief"
   • 4. gain access to the root account of (a smartphone or computer): "we explained how to manually root almost any Android device"
   • 5. have sex with. vulgar slang Australian, New Zealand, Irish

   Word Origin late Old Englishrōt, from Old Norse rót; related to Latin radix, also to wort.

   Derivatives

   • 1. rootage noun
   • 2. rootlet noun
   • 3. rootlike adjective
   • 4. rooty adjective

   Scrabble Points: 4

   • R

     1

   • O

     1

   • O

     1

   • T

     1

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