Root - Definition

n 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, origin, root, rootage, source]
3: (linguistics) the form of a word after all affixes are
removed; "thematic vowels are part of the stem" [syn: root,
root word, base, stem, theme, radical]
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, root]
6: someone from whom you are descended (but usually more remote
than a grandparent) [syn: ancestor, ascendant,
ascendent, antecedent, root] [ant: descendant,
descendent]
7: a simple form inferred as the common basis from which related
words in several languages can be derived by linguistic
processes [syn: etymon, root]
8: the part of a tooth that is embedded in the jaw and serves as
support [syn: root, tooth root]
v 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, root, rootle]
5: become settled or established and stable in one's residence
or life style; "He finally settled down" [syn: settle,
root, take root, steady down, settle down]
6: cause to take roots