root

Meanings

1. 1
   verb

   take root and begin to grow

   this plant roots quickly

2. 2
   verb

   dig with the snout

   the pig was rooting for truffles

3. 3
   verb

   come into existence, originate

   The problem roots in my depression.

4. 4
   noun

   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.

   (obsolete)

5. 5
   noun

   A root vegetable.

   [...] 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.

6. 6
   noun

   The part of a tooth extending into the bone holding the tooth in place.

   (archaic)

7. 7
   noun

   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.

8. 8
   noun

   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.

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”).