Hypertext Webster Gateway: "root"
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
Root \Root\, v. i. [AS. wr[=o]tan; akin to wr[=o]t a snout,
trunk, D. wroeten to root, G. r["u]ssel snout, trunk,
proboscis, Icel. r[=o]ta to root, and perhaps to L. rodere to
gnaw (E. rodent) or to E. root, n.]
1. To turn up the earth with the snout, as swine.
2. Hence, to seek for favor or advancement by low arts or
groveling servility; to fawn servilely.
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
Root \Root\, v. t.
To turn up or to dig out with the snout; as, the swine roots
the earth.
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
Root \Root\, n. [Icel. r[=o]t (for vr[=o]t); akin to E. wort,
and perhaps to root to turn up the earth. See {Wort}.]
1. (Bot.)
(a) 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.
(b) 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.
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
Root \Root\ (r[=oo]t), v. i. [imp. & p. p. {Rooted}; p. pr. &
vb. n. {Rooting}.]
1. To fix the root; to enter the earth, as roots; to take
root and begin to grow.
In deep grounds the weeds root deeper. --Mortimer.
2. To be firmly fixed; to be established.
If any irregularity chanced to intervene and to
cause misappehensions, he gave them not leave to
root and fasten by concealment. --Bp. Fell.
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
Root \Root\, v. t.
1. 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; as, rooted
trees or forests; rooted dislike.
2. To tear up by the root; to eradicate; to extirpate; --
with up, out, or away. ``I will go root away the noisome
weeds.'' --Shak.
The Lord rooted them out of their land . . . and
cast them into another land. --Deut. xxix.
28.
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
Root \Root\, v. i. [Cf. {Rout} to roar.]
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; as, the crowd rooted for the home team.
[Slang or Cant, U. S.]
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
{To take place}, {root}, {sides}, {stock}, etc. See under
{Place}, {Root}, {Side}, etc.
{To take the air}.
(a) (Falconry) To seek to escape by trying to rise higher
than the falcon; -- said of a bird.
(b) See under {Air}.
{To take the field}. (Mil.) See under {Field}.
{To take thought}, to be concerned or anxious; to be
solicitous. --Matt. vi. 25, 27.
{To take to heart}. See under {Heart}.
{To take to task}, to reprove; to censure.
From WordNet (r) 1.7 (wn)
root
adj : arising from or going to the root; "a radical flaw in the
plan" [syn: {radical}]
n 1: 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: (linguistics) the form of a word after all affixes are
removed; "thematic vowels are part of the stem" [syn: {root
word}, {base}, {stem}, {theme}, {radical}]
3: 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}, {rootage}, {source}]
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}]
6: someone from whom you are descended (but usually more remote
that a grandparent) [syn: {ancestor}, {ascendant}, {ascendent},
{antecedent}] [ant: {descendant}]
7: a simple form inferred as the common basis from which
related words in several languages can be derived by
linguistic processes [syn: {etymon}]
8: the part of a tooth that is embedded in the jaw and serves
as support [syn: {tooth root}]
v 1: take root; begin to grow; of plants
2: come into existence, originate
3: plant by the roots
4: dig with the snout; "the pig was rooting for truffles" [syn:
{rout}, {rootle}]
5: take sides with; align oneself with; show strong sympathy
for; "We all rooted for the home team"; "I'm pulling for
the underdog"; "Are you siding with the defender of the
title?" [syn: {side}, {pull}]
6: become settled or established and stable in one's residence
or life style; "He finally settled down" [syn: {settle}, {take
root}, {steady down}, {settle down}]
7: cause to take roots
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