root

Pronunciation: /ɹuːt/

Reading level: medium

Estimated CEFR level: B1 — Intermediate

Estimated from word frequency; not an official CEFR classification.

Definition

  1. noun (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. noun the place where something begins, where it springs into being
  3. noun (linguistics) the form of a word after all affixes are removed

Etymology

PIE word *wréh₂ds From Middle English rote, root, roote (“the underground part of a plant”), from late Old English rōt, from Old Norse rót (“root”), from Proto-Germanic *wrōts (“root”), from Proto-Indo-European *wréh₂ds (“root”); Doublet of wort, radish, and radix. Cognate with Scots ruit, rute (“root”), Danish rod (“root”), Faroese and Icelandic rót (“root”), Norwegian and Swedish rot (“root”).

In classic literature

Semantic network

Broader (hypernyms)
plant organ
Narrower (hyponyms)
calamus, adventitious root, orrisroot, parsnip, hottentot bread, mandrake root

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