root
verb
- base, justify
- be an active fan
noun
- the part of a plant that grows underground, gets water from the ground, and holds the plant in place
- linguistic term -- indivisible part of word that does not have a prefix or a suffix, may have a meaning and be usable alone or not
- material derived from or comprising roots, which are parts of a plant that develop, growing typically from the radicle and downward into the soil
- note after which a chord is named
Wiktionary
Pronunciation: /ɹuːt/ / /ɹʉwt/ / /ɹʉt/
name
- An English surname from Middle English from a byname from Middle English rote (“glad”).
“In July this year, Mrs. Betty Root, who is in charge of the reading centre at Reading University's Institute of Education, reported 'that there are now more backward readers than ever, in spite of the large number of teaching methods now available'.”
- An English surname originating as an occupation for a rote (medieval guitar)-player.
- A habitational surname from Dutch for someone living near a retting place (Dutch root, from roten (“to ret”)).
- A town in Lucerne canton, Switzerland.
- A township in Adams County, Indiana, United States.
- A town in Montgomery County, New York, United States; named for lawyer and politician Erastus Root.
- A river in Minnesota, United States; named as a translation of its native Dakota name.
- A river in Wisconsin, United States.
noun
Etymology: From Middle English wrōten (“to dig with the snout”), from Old English wrōtan, from Proto-West Germanic *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).
- An act of rummaging or searching.
“It was always sensible to get off the busy streets if you were going to have a root inside your girlfriend's bra.”
“It'll come to me eventually, but I think I'll go over to Bristol tomorrow afternoon and have a root through the medical school library.”
- An act of sexual intercourse.
“Fancy a root?”
“Ken was in the good mood he'd been in for weeks. Nothing like a regular root to turn him into the jolly green giant.”
- A sexual partner.
verb
Etymology: Possibly an alteration of rout (“to make a loud noise”), influenced by hoot.
- To cheer (on); to show support (for) and hope for the success of. (See root for.)
“I'm rooting for you, don't let me down!”
“Let me root, root, root for the home team,”