. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word
, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say
in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word
you have here. The definition of the word
will help you to be more precise and correct when speaking or writing your texts. Knowing the definition of
, as well as those of other words, enriches your vocabulary and provides you with more and better linguistic resources.
English
Pronunciation
Some roots (1)
Some visible tree roots (1)
Etymology 1
From Middle English rote , root , roote ( “ the underground part of a plant ” ) , from late Old English rōt , from Old Norse rót (Icelandic rót ), from Proto-Germanic *wrōts , from Proto-Indo-European *wréh₂ds ( “ root ” ) ; Doublet of wort , radish , and radix .
Noun
root (countable and uncountable , plural roots )
The part of a plant , generally underground , that anchors and supports the plant body, absorbs and stores water and nutrients , and in some plants is able to perform vegetative reproduction .
Hyponym: taproot
This tree's roots can go as deep as twenty metres underground.
A root vegetable .
1943 November – 1944 February (date written; published 1945 August 17), George Orwell [pseudonym; Eric Arthur Blair], Animal Farm , London: Secker & Warburg , published May 1962 , →OCLC :[...] two fields which should have been sown with roots in the early summer were not sown because the ploughing had not been completed early enough.
The part of a tooth extending into the bone holding the tooth in place.
Root damage is a common problem of overbrushing.
The part of a hair under the skin that holds the hair in place.
The root is the only part of the hair that is alive.
The part of a hair near the skin that has not been dyed , permed , or otherwise treated .
He dyed his hair black last month, so the grey roots can be seen.
( figurative ) The primary source ; origin .
Synonyms: basis , origin , source
The love of money is the root of all evil.
, Book 1
They were the roots out of which sprang two distinct people.
1936 , Rollo Ahmed, The Black Art , London: Long, page 160 :Phallicism was, therefore, at the root of all religion, and was definitely the opponent of evil and darkness.
( aviation ) The section of a wing immediately adjacent to the fuselage .
( engineering ) The bottom of the thread of a threaded object .
Antonym: crest
The root diameter is the minor diameter of an external thread and the major diameter of an internal one.
( arithmetic ) Of a number or expression , a number which, when raised to a specified power , yields the specified number or expression.
Hyponyms: cube root , functional root , square root
The cube root of 27 is 3.
( arithmetic ) A square root (understood if no power is specified; in which case, "the root of" is often abbreviated to "root").
Multiply by root 2.
1899 , Dante Gabriel Rossetti (transl.), The New Life (La Vita Nuova ) of Dante Alighieri , Siddall edition, page 122.
The number three is the root of the number nine; being multiplied merely by itself, it produceth nine, as we manifestly perceive that three times three are nine.
( mathematical analysis ) A zero (of an equation ).
Synonym: zero
Antonym: pole
Holonym: kernel
( graph theory , computing ) The single node of a tree that has no parent .
( linguistic morphology ) 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.
Coordinate term: stem
1530 July 18, Iohan Palſgrave , “The Introduction”, in Leſclarciſſement de la langue francoyſe , London: Richard Pynſon, Iohan Haukyns, →OCLC , page 32 ; reprinted as Lesclarcissement de la langue françoyse , Genève: Slatkine Reprints, 1972 :In ſo moche that if any verbe be of the thyꝛde coniugation / I ſet out all his rotes and tenſes [ …]
2006 , Donald Ringe , From Proto-Indo-European to Proto-Germanic (A Linguistic History of English; 1) , Oxford: Oxford University Press, →ISBN , page 12 :A considerable number of derived nominals, especially thematic nouns, also exhibited o-grade roots .
( linguistics ) A word from which another word or words are derived .
Synonym: etymon
( music ) The fundamental tone of any chord ; the tone from whose harmonics, or overtones, a chord is composed.
The lowest place, position, or part.
( 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 ; the person who manages accounts on a UNIX system.
Synonyms: superuser , root account , root user
I have to log in as root before I do that.
( computing ) The highest directory of a directory structure which may contain both files and subdirectories.
I installed the files in the root directory.
( slang ) A penis , especially the base of a penis.
Derived terms
Translations
part of a plant
Acehnese: ukheue
Afar: rimid
Afrikaans: wortel (af)
Aiton: please add this translation if you can
Aklanon: gamot
Albanian: rrënjë (sq) f
Arabic: جَذْر (ar) m ( jaḏr )
Egyptian Arabic: جدر m ( gedr )
Mesopotamian Arabic: عرگ m ( ʕereg )
Moroccan Arabic: جدر m ( ždər ) (( plural ) جدور m pl ( ždur ) )
North Levantine Arabic: شرش m ( šereš )
South Levantine Arabic: شرش m ( šorš )
Aragonese: radiz (an)
Armenian: արմատ (hy) ( armat )
Aromanian: arãdãtsinã f , zãrãtsinã f , rãdãtsinã f
Asi: gamot
Assamese: শিয়া ( xia ) , শিপা ( xipa )
Asturian: raíz (ast) f
Azerbaijani: kök (az)
Bakung: lakat
Balinese: akah
Bashkir: тамыр ( tamır )
Basque: sustrai , zuztar , erro
Belarusian: ко́рань (be) m ( kóranʹ )
Bengali: মূল (bn) ( mul )
Berber:
Tashelhit: azɣwr m
Bhojpuri: please add this translation if you can
Bilba: oka
Bintulu: waka
Bulgarian: ко́рен (bg) m ( kóren )
Burmese: အမြစ် (my) ( a.mrac )
Butuanon: gamot
Catalan: arrel (ca) f
Cebuano: gamot
Central Melanau: akah
Chakma: please add this translation if you can
Chamicuro: ijtishi
Chechen: орам ( oram )
Cherokee: ᎤᎿᏍᏕᏜ ( uhnasdedla )
Chichewa: muzu
Chinese:
Mandarin: 根 (zh) ( gēn )
Choctaw: akshish
Chuvash: тымар ( tymar )
Classical Nahuatl: nelhuatl
Czech: kořen (cs) m
Dalmatian: radaica f
Danish: rod (da) c
Dhivehi: please add this translation if you can
Drung: vng'reu , shing'reu
Dutch: wortel (nl) m
Dzongkha: please add this translation if you can
Eastern Arrernte: artekerre
Eastern Cham: ꨀꨉꨩ ( agha' ) , ꨉꨩ ( gha' ) , ꨂꨉꨩ ( ưgha' )
Egyptian: (wꜣb m )
Elfdalian: ruota f
Erzya: юр ( jur ) , юндокс ( jundoks )
Esperanto: radiko (eo)
Estonian: juur (et)
Evenki: ңиңтэ
Extremaduran: please add this translation if you can
Faroese: rót (fo) f
Finnish: juuri (fi) , puunjuuri ( of a tree )
Franco-Provençal: please add this translation if you can
French: racine (fr) f
Friulian: lidrîs
Galician: raíz (gl) f
Ge'ez: ሥርው ( śərw )
Georgian: ფესვი ( pesvi ) , ძირი ( ʒiri )
German: Wurzel (de) f , Wurzeln (de) pl
Gothic: 𐍅𐌰𐌿𐍂𐍄𐍃 f ( waurts )
Greek: ρίζα (el) f ( ríza )
Ancient: ῥίζα f ( rhíza )
Greenlandic: sorlak
Guaraní: tapo
Haitian Creole: rasin
Hawaiian: aʻa
Hebrew: שורש (he) m ( shóresh )
Higaonon: gamot
Hiligaynon: gamot
Hindi: जड़ (hi) ( jaṛ )
Hungarian: gyökér (hu)
Icelandic: rót (is) f
Indonesian: akar (id)
Ingrian: juuri
Iranun: waged
Irish: fréamh f
Isnag: xamut
Italian: radice (it) f
Iu Mien: nzungh
Japanese: 根 (ja) ( ね, ne )
Javanese: oyot
Kamarian: waar
Kambera: amu
Kannada: ಬೇರು (kn) ( bēru )
Kapampangan: amut , yamut
Kashubian: kòrzéń
Kazakh: тамыр ( tamyr ) , түбір ( tübır )
Khamti: please add this translation if you can
Khmer: ឫស (km) ( rɨh )
Kilivila: uula
Komi-Zyrian: вуж ( vuž )
Kongo: mwanzi
Korean: 뿌리 (ko) ( ppuri )
Kurdish:
Central Kurdish: ڕەگ ( reg )
Northern Kurdish: reg (ku) m , reh (ku) m , kok (ku) f
Kyrgyz: тамыр (ky) ( tamır )
Ladin: please add this translation if you can
Lak: бакӏ ( bakʼ ) , бакӏру ( bakʼru )
Lao: ຮາກ ( hāk )
Latgalian: sakne f , saknis f pl
Latin: rādīx f
Latvian: sakne (lv) f , saknes f pl
Lezgi: пун ( pun )
Ligurian: radiccia f , reixe f
Lithuanian: šaknis (lt)
Livonian: jūŗ
Lombard: radis (lmo) f
Low German: Wortel f
Lü: ᦣᦱᧅ ( haak )
Luhya: kumuzizi
Luxembourgish: Wuerzel f
Macedonian: корен m ( koren )
Magahi: please add this translation if you can
Maguindanao: dalig , bekaw
Maithili: please add this translation if you can
Malay:
Jawi: اکر
Rumi: akar (ms)
Malayalam: വേര് (ml) ( vērŭ )
Maltese: għerq m
Manchu: ᡩᠠ ( da )
Maori: aka , akaaka ( refers to fibrous roots )
Maranao: bekaw
Mari:
Eastern Mari: вож ( vož )
Western Mari: please add this translation if you can
Mariupol Greek: ри́за f ( ríza )
Middle English: rote , more
Minangkabau: ure'
Mirandese: please add this translation if you can
Moksha: юр ( jur )
Mon: ရိုဟ် (mnw)
Mongolian: үндэс (mn) ( ündes )
Nahuatl: nelhuatl
Nanai: дачан ( dačan )
Navajo: akétłʼóól
Neapolitan: ràdeca f
Nepali: जरा (ne) ( jarā )
Nias: wa'a
Norman: raichinne , réchinne
Northern Mansi: (please verify ) та̄р ( tār )
Northern Sami: ruohtas
Northern Thai: ᩁᩣ᩠ᨠ
Norwegian:
Bokmål: rot (no) m or f
Nynorsk: rot (nn) f
Nuosu: ꐴ ( njip )
Occitan: raiç (oc) f , rasic (oc) f
Odia: ଜଡି ( jôḍi )
Ojibwe: ojiibik
Okinawan: 根 ( にー, nī )
Old Church Slavonic:
Cyrillic: корєнь m ( korenĭ )
Old English: wyrttruma m
Oromo: hidda , hundee
Ottoman Turkish: كوك ( kök ) , عرق ( ʿırk )
Pacoh: reaih , riêih
Palu'e: waka
Papiamentu: rais
Pashto: جذر (ps) m ( ǰazr ) , جرړه (ps) f ( ǰárṛa )
Persian: ریشه (fa) ( riše )
Phake: please add this translation if you can
Piedmontese: rèis f , radis f
Pipil: nelwat
Polish: korzeń (pl) m
Portuguese: raiz (pt) f
Quechua: machu (qu) , saphi , sapi (qu)
Rakhine: please add this translation if you can
Rapa Nui: aka
Rohingya: cém
Romagnol: radìșa f , ràdga f
Romanian: rădăcină (ro) f
Romansch: ragisch f , risch f , rieisch f
Russian: ко́рень (ru) m ( kórenʹ ) , ко́рни (ru) m pl ( kórni ) , ( roots for cooking ) коре́нья (ru) pl ( korénʹja )
S'gaw Karen: အဂံၢ် ( ʼa ghee̱ )
Saek: ร̄าก
Sardinian: radichina f , arraighina , raichina
Sasak: akah
Scottish Gaelic: freumh m
Serbo-Croatian:
Cyrillic: ко̏ре̄н m , ко̏рије̄н m
Roman: kȍrēn (sh) m , kȍrijēn (sh) m
Shan: ႁၢၵ်ႈ (shn) ( hāak )
Sicilian: ràdica (scn) f , ràdiga (scn) f , ràrica (scn) f
Sinhalese: please add this translation if you can
Slovak: koreň m
Slovene: korenina (sl) f
Somali: xiddid (so)
Sorbian:
Lower Sorbian: kórjeń m
Upper Sorbian: korjeń m
Southern Altai: тамыр ( tamïr ) , јылтыс ( ǰïltïs )
Southern Kam: sangp
Southern Thai: please add this translation if you can
Spanish: raíz (es) f
Swahili: mzizi (sw)
Swedish: rot (sv) c
Sylheti: please add this translation if you can
Tagal Murut: bakat
Tagalog: urat , ugat (tl)
Tahitian: aʻa
Tai Dam: please add this translation if you can
Tai Nüa: please add this translation if you can
Tajik: реша (tg) ( reša )
Talysh: rəğ
Tamil: வேர் (ta) ( vēr )
Tarifit: aẓwar m
Tat: rag
Tatar: тамыр (tt) ( tamır )
Tausug: gamut
Telugu: వేరు (te) ( vēru )
Ternate: utu
Tetum: abut
Thai: ราก (th) ( râak )
Tibetan: རྩ་བ ( rtsa ba )
Tocharian B: witsako
Tokelauan: aka
Tongan: aka
Turkish: kök (tr)
Turkmen: kök
Udi: тум ( tum )
Udmurt: выжы ( vyžy )
Ugaritic: 𐎌𐎗𐎌 ( šrš )
Ukrainian: ко́рінь (uk) m ( kórinʹ ) , корі́ння n ( korínnja )
Urdu: جڑ ( jaṛ )
Uyghur: يىلتىز ( yiltiz )
Uzbek: ildiz (uz)
Venetian: raixa (vec) f , rais
Vietnamese: rễ (vi) (𣠲 )
Volapük: vul (vo)
Walloon: raecene (wa) f
Welsh: gwraidd (cy) m
West Frisian: woartel (fy)
Western Cham: please add this translation if you can
White Hmong: cag
Yagnobi: риша ( riša )
Yakan: gamut
Yakut: силис ( silis )
Yamdena: wakar
Yiddish: וואָרצל m ( vortsl )
Zande: tara
Zazaki: rêçiki
Zealandic: wortel m
Zhuang: rag
Zulu: impande class 9 /10
ǃKung: daŋ
ǃXóõ: ǃkʻqái
of a tooth
Afrikaans: wortel (af)
Arabic: جَذْر (ar) m ( jaḏr ) (( plural ) جُذُور m pl ( juḏūr ) )
Armenian: արմատ (hy) ( armat )
Bashkir: тамыр ( tamır )
Berber:
Tashelhit: azɣwr m
Bulgarian: корен (bg) m ( koren )
Catalan: arrel (ca) f
Chinese:
Mandarin: 根 (zh) ( gēn )
Czech: kořen (cs) m
Danish: rod (da) c
Dutch: wortel (nl) m
Finnish: juuri (fi) , hampaanjuuri (fi)
French: racine (fr) f
Galician: raíz (gl) f , raigoto m
German: Wurzel (de) f , Wurzeln (de) pl , Zahnwurzel (de) f
Greek: ρίζα (el) f ( ríza )
Hebrew: שורש (he) m ( shoresh )
Hungarian: gyökér (hu) , foggyökér (hu)
Icelandic: rót (is) f , rætur pl
Italian: radice (it) f
Japanese: 歯根 (ja) ( しこん, shikon )
Korean: 뿌리 (ko) ( ppuri )
Latin: radix f , radicis pl
Latvian: sakne (lv) f
Mari:
Eastern Mari: вож ( vož )
Norwegian:
Bokmål: rot (no) m or f
Nynorsk: rot (nn) f
Occitan: raiç (oc) f
Persian: ریشه (fa) ( riše )
Polish: korzeń (pl) m
Portuguese: raiz (pt) f
Romanian: rădăcină de dinte f , rădăcină dentară f , rădăcină dentală f
Russian: ко́рень (ru) m ( kórenʹ ) , ко́рни (ru) m pl ( kórni )
Scottish Gaelic: freumh m
Serbo-Croatian:
Cyrillic: ко̏ре̄н m , ко̏рије̄н m
Roman: kȍrēn (sh) m , kȍrijēn (sh) m
Slovak: koreň m
Spanish: raíz (es) f , raíces (es) pl
Swahili: mzizi (sw)
Swedish: rot (sv) , tandrot (sv)
Turkish: kök (tr)
Ukrainian: ко́рінь (uk) m ( kórinʹ )
Vietnamese: chân răng
Zulu: umsuka class 3 /4
part of a hair under the skin
part of a hair near the skin
primary source
Afrikaans: wortel (af)
Arabic: أَصْل m ( ʔaṣl ) (( plural ) أُصُول (ar) m pl ( ʔuṣūl ) )
Armenian: արմատ (hy) ( armat )
Bashkir: тамыр ( tamır )
Bulgarian: ко́рен (bg) m ( kóren )
Chinese:
Mandarin: 根源 (zh) ( gēnyuán )
Czech: kořen (cs) m
Danish: rod (da) c
Dutch: wortel (nl) m
Finnish: lähde (fi) , juuri (fi)
French: racine (fr) f , origine (fr) f
Galician: raíz (gl) f
German: Quelle (de) f , Quellen (de) pl
Greek: ρίζα (el) f ( ríza )
Ancient: ῥίζα f ( rhíza )
Hebrew: מקור (he) m ( makór )
Hungarian: gyökér (hu) , forrás (hu) , alap (hu) , kiindulópont (hu) , eredet (hu) , okozó (hu)
Icelandic: rót (is) f
Italian: radice (it) f
Japanese: 起源 (ja) ( きげん, kigen ) , 元 (ja) ( もと, moto ) , 根源 (ja) ( こんげん, kongen )
Korean: 근원 (ko) ( geunwon )
Latin: radix f
Latvian: sakne (lv) f
Norwegian:
Bokmål: rot (no) m or f
Nynorsk: rot (nn) f
Occitan: raiç (oc) f
Ottoman Turkish: كوك ( kök ) , عرق ( ʿırk )
Persian: ریشه (fa) ( riše ) , سرچشمه (fa) ( sarčašme )
Polish: źródło (pl) n
Portuguese: raiz (pt) f
Russian: ко́рень (ru) m ( kórenʹ ) , ко́рни (ru) m pl ( kórni )
Scottish Gaelic: freumh m
Serbo-Croatian:
Cyrillic: ко̏ре̄н m , ко̏рије̄н m
Roman: kȍrēn (sh) m , kȍrijēn (sh) m
Slovak: koreň m
Slovene: koren (sl) m
Spanish: raíz (es) f , raíces (es) pl
Swedish: källa (sv) c
Tarifit: aẓwar m
Telugu: మూలము (te) ( mūlamu )
Turkish: kaynak (tr)
Ukrainian: ко́рінь (uk) m ( kórinʹ )
Welsh: gwraidd (cy) m
Zulu: umsuka class 3 /4
arithmetic: number or expression which when raised to a power gives the specified number or expression
analysis: zero of a function
graph theory: node in a tree that has no parent
linguistic morphology: primary lexical unit of a word
Arabic: جَذْر (ar) m ( jaḏr )
Bashkir: тамыр ( tamır )
Bulgarian: ко́рен (bg) m ( kóren )
Catalan: arrel (ca) f
Chinese:
Cantonese: 語根 / 语根 ( jyu5 gan1 )
Mandarin: 语根 (zh) ( yǔgēn ) , 語根 / 语根 (zh) ( yǔgēn )
Czech: kořen (cs) m
Dutch: wortel (nl) m
Finnish: juuri (fi)
French: racine (fr) , radical (fr)
Georgian: ფუძე ( puʒe )
German: Grundwort (de) n
Greek: ρίζα (el) f ( ríza )
Hungarian: szótő (hu) , tő (hu)
Italian: radice (it) f
Japanese: 語根 ( ごこん, gokon )
Korean: 어근(語根) (ko) ( eogeun )
Kyrgyz: уңгу (ky) ( uŋgu )
Mari:
Eastern Mari: вож ( vož )
Polish: podstawa słowotwórcza f , rdzeń (pl) m
Portuguese: radical (pt) m , raiz (pt) f
Romanian: rădăcină (ro) f , radical (ro) n
Russian: ко́рень (ru) m ( kórenʹ ) , ко́рни (ru) m pl ( kórni )
Scottish Gaelic: freumh m
Slovak: koreň
Spanish: raíz (es) f , lexema (es) f
Tagalog: salitang ugat
Turkish: please add this translation if you can
Ukrainian: ко́рінь (uk) m ( kórinʹ )
Vietnamese: gốc từ (vi) , gốc (vi)
Welsh: gwreiddyn (cy) m
Zulu: umsuka class 3 /4
philology: word from which another word or words are derived
Arabic: أَصْل m ( ʔaṣl ) (( plural ) أُصُول (ar) m pl ( ʔuṣūl ) )
Armenian: արմատ (hy) ( armat )
Bashkir: тамыр ( tamır )
Bulgarian: корен (bg) m ( koren )
Chinese:
Mandarin: 詞根 / 词根 (zh) ( cígēn )
Dutch: stam (nl) m
Finnish: juuri (fi) , kantasana (fi) , kanta (fi)
French: racine (fr) f , mot souche m
German: Stamm (de) m
Greek: ρίζα (el) f ( ríza )
Hebrew: שורש (he) m ( shóresh )
Hungarian: szógyök (hu) , szógyökér , gyök (hu) , gyökér (hu) , ősszó , gyökérszó (hu) , tőszó (hu) , tő (hu)
Irish: stoc m
Persian: ریشه (fa) ( riše )
Portuguese: raiz (pt) f
Russian: ко́рень (ru) m ( kórenʹ ) , ко́рни (ru) m pl ( kórni )
Scottish Gaelic: freumh m
Slovene: koren (sl) m
Spanish: raíz (es) f
Swedish: rot (sv) , ordrot
Turkish: köken (tr)
Welsh: gwreiddyn (cy) m
Yiddish: שורש m ( shoyresh ) , וואָרצל m ( vortsl )
music: fundamental tone of any chord; the tone from whose harmonics, or overtones, a chord is composed
computing: user account at the root of the directory structure
person who manages accounts on a UNIX system
computing: highest directory of a directory structure
Translations to be checked
See also
Other terms used in arithmetic operation s:
Advanced hyperoperation s: tetration , pentation , hexation
Verb
root (third-person singular simple present roots , present participle rooting , simple past and past participle rooted )
To grow roots ; to enter the earth, as roots ; to take root and begin to grow .
The cuttings are starting to root .
1707 , J[ohn] Mortimer , The Whole Art of Husbandry; or, The Way of Managing and Improving of Land. , 2nd edition, London: J H for H Mortlock , and J Robinson , published 1708 , →OCLC :In deep grounds the weeds root the deeper.
2014 October 26, Jeff Howell, “Is the Japanese knotweed threat exaggerated? Our troubleshooter calls for calm about Japanese knotweed in the garden – and moss on the roof [print version: Don't panic about an overhyped invasion, 25 October 2014, p. P13]”, in The Daily Telegraph (Property) :Some old, underfired clay pantiles might be damaged by button mosses rooting in cracks and fissures. But most post-war tiles are hard enough to withstand a bit of moss growth.
To prepare , oversee , or otherwise cause the rooting of cuttings .
We rooted some cuttings last summer.
To fix firmly; to establish .
1823 , Gilbert Burnet , The Life of Sir Matthew Hale, Knt., Sometime Lord Chief Justice of His Majesty's Court of King's-Bench :If any irregularity chanced to intervene and to cause misapprehensions, he gave them not leave to root and fasten by concealment.
1981 April 18, Michael Bronski, “Good Production — Bad Play”, in Gay Community News , page 10 :Small theater companies come and go very quickly — many times after one show — but community response to Triangle has been strong, and there is a good chance that they will make it through those early growing stages and firmly root .
2020 October 15, Frank Pasquale, “‘Machines set loose to slaughter’: the dangerous rise of military AI”, in The Guardian :Massacres that take place during war often seem to be rooted in irrational emotion.
( computing slang , transitive ) To get root or privileged access on (a computer system or mobile phone ), often through bypassing some security mechanism.
Synonym: ( mobile phone ) jailbreak
We rooted his box and planted a virus on it.
I want to root my Android phone so I can remove the preinstalled crapware.
Translations
Etymology 2
From Middle English wrōten ( “ to dig with the snout ” ) , from Old English wrōtan , from Proto-Germanic *wrōtaną ( “ to dig out, to root ” ) . Related to Old English wrōt ( “ snout; trunk ” ) . Loss of initial w- probably due to influence from the related noun (Etymology 1).
Verb
root (third-person singular simple present roots , present participle rooting , simple past and past participle rooted )
( transitive , intransitive ) To turn up or dig with the snout.
A pig roots the earth for truffles.
c. 1515–1516 , published 1568, John Skelton , Againſt venemous tongues enpoyſoned with ſclaunder and falſe detractions &c. :
Such tunges ſhuld be torne out by the harde rootes, Hoyning like hogges that groynis and wrotes .
( by extension ) To seek favour or advancement by low arts or grovelling servility; to fawn .
c. 1593 (date written), William Shakespeare , “The Tragedy of Richard the Third: ”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies (First Folio ), London: Isaac Iaggard , and Ed Blount , published 1623 , →OCLC , :Thou elvish-marked, abortive, rooting hog!
( intransitive ) To rummage ; to search as if by digging in soil .
Synonyms: dig out , root out , rummage
rooting about in a junk-filled drawer
( intransitive ) Of a baby : to turn the head and open the mouth in search of food .
2016 , Rachel Waddilove, The Baby Book: How to enjoy year one: revised and updated , page 179 :When your baby is rooting , his head will turn to the side and he will open and close his mouth. If you put your finger in your baby's hand, she has a grasping reflex that makes her curl her fingers around yours and hold on.
( transitive ) To root out ; to abolish .
1595 December 9 (first known performance), William Shakespeare , “The life and death of King Richard the Second ”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies: Published According to the True Originall Copies (First Folio ), London: Isaac Iaggard , and Ed Blount , published 1623 , →OCLC , :I will go root away the noisome weeds.
( Australia , New Zealand , Ireland , vulgar , slang ) To sexually penetrate .
Synonyms: screw , bang , ( US ) drill , ( British ) shag ; see also Thesaurus:copulate with
Usage notes
The Australian/New Zealand sexual sense is somewhat milder than fuck but still quite coarse, and certainly not for polite conversation. The sexual sense will often be understood, unless care is taken with the context to make the rummage sense clear, or root through or root around is used. The past participle rooted is equivalent to fucked in the figurative sense of broken or tired, but rooting has only the direct verbal sense; it is not an all-purpose intensive like fucking .
Derived terms
Translations
to turn up or dig with the snout - as pigs
to seek favour or advancement by servility
coarse slang: to have sexual intercourse
Noun
root (plural roots )
( Australia , New Zealand , vulgar , slang ) An act of sexual intercourse .
Synonyms: ( UK, US ) screw , ( UK ) shag ; see also Thesaurus:copulation
Fancy a root ?
( Australia , New Zealand , vulgar , slang ) A sexual partner.
Synonym: ( US ) screw
Usage notes
The Australian/New Zealand sexual sense of root is somewhat milder than fuck but still quite coarse, certainly not for polite conversation. The normal usage is to have a root or similar.
Translations
coarse slang: act of sexual intercourse
coarse slang: sexual partner
Etymology 3
Possibly an alteration of rout ( “ to make a loud noise ” ) , influenced by hoot .
Verb
root (third-person singular simple present roots , present participle rooting , simple past and past participle rooted )
( intransitive , with "for" or "on", US ) To cheer (on); to show support (for) and hope for the success of. ( See root for . )
Synonyms: ( Australia, New Zealand ) barrack , cheer on
I'm rooting for you, don't let me down!
Translations
References
^ 1817 , Thomas Busby , A Dictionary of Music, Theoretical and Practical
Anagrams
Chinese
Etymology
Borrowed from English root .
Verb
root
( computing slang ) to root (an Android device) ( to get root or privileged access )
這 部 手機 root 後 不 保修 。 [MSC , trad. ] 这 部 手机 root 后 不 保修 。 [MSC , simp. ] Zhè bù shǒujī root hòu bù bǎoxiū. This mobile phone will not be guaranteed if it is rooted .
See also
French
Pronunciation
Noun
root m (plural roots )
( computing ) root
German Low German
Alternative forms
Etymology
From Old Saxon rōd , from Proto-Germanic *raudaz , from Proto-Indo-European *h₁rowdʰós < *h₁rewdʰ- . Compare Dutch rood , German rot , West Frisian read , English red , Danish rød .
Adjective
root (comparative röder , superlative röödst )
red
Declension
Positive forms of root
gender
singular
plural
masculine
feminine
neuter
all genders
predicative
he is root
se is root
dat is root
se sünd root
partitive
een Roods
een Roods
wat Roods
allens Rood
strong declension (without article)
nominative
rode
rode
root
rode
oblique
roden
rode
root
rode
weak declension (with definite article)
nominative
de rode
de rode
dat rode
de roden
oblique
den roden
de rode
dat rode
de roden
mixed declension (with indefinite article)
nominative
en rode/roden
en rode
en root/rodet
(keen) roden
oblique
en roden
en rode
en root/rodet
(keen) roden
Comparative forms of root
gender
singular
plural
masculine
feminine
neuter
all genders
predicative
he is röder
se is röder
dat is röder
se sünd röder
partitive
een röders
een röders
wat röders
allens röder
strong declension (without article)
nominative
rödere
rödere
röder
rödere
oblique
rödern
rödere
röder
rödere
weak declension (with definite article)
nominative
de rödere
de rödere
dat rödere
de rödern
oblique
den rödern
de rödere
dat rödere
de rödern
mixed declension (with indefinite article)
nominative
en rödere/röderen
en rödere
en röder
(keen) rödern
oblique
en rödern
en rödere
en röder
(keen) rödern
Superlative forms of root
gender
singular
plural
masculine
feminine
neuter
all genders
predicative
he is de Röödste
se is de Röödste
dat is dat Röödste
se sünd de Röödsten
strong declension (without article)
nominative
röödste
röödste
röödst
röödste
oblique
röödsten
röödste
röödst
röödste
weak declension (with definite article)
nominative
de röödste
de röödste
dat röödste
de röödsten
oblique
den röödsten
de röödste
dat röödste
de röödsten
mixed declension (with indefinite article)
nominative
en röödste/röödsten
en röödste
en röödst
(keen) röödsten
oblique
en röödsten
en röödste
en röödst
(keen) röödsten
Note: This declension is one of many; neither its grammar nor spelling apply to all dialects.
Middle Dutch
Etymology
From Old Dutch rōt , from Proto-Germanic *raudaz , from Proto-Indo-European *h₁rowdʰós , from the root *h₁rewdʰ- .
Adjective
rôot
red
Inflection
Adjective
Masculine
Feminine
Neuter
Plural
Nominative
Indefinite
rôot
rôde
rôot
rôde
Definite
rôde
rôde
Accusative
Indefinite
rôden
rôde
rôot
rôde
Definite
rôde
Genitive
rôots
rôder
rôots
rôder
Dative
rôden
rôder
rôden
rôden
Descendants
Further reading
Middle English
Etymology 1
Noun
root
Alternative form of rote ( “ root ” )
Etymology 2
Noun
root
Alternative form of rote ( “ habit ” )
Etymology 3
Noun
root
Alternative form of rot
Plautdietsch
Etymology
From Middle Low German rōt , from Old Saxon rōd .
Adjective
root
red
Portuguese
Etymology
Unadapted borrowing from English root .
Pronunciation
Noun
root m (plural roots )
( computing ) root ( user with complete access to the operating system )