rootle C2+ Topic:Plants & Agriculture US /ˈrutl/ UK /ˈruːtl/ See IPA manual Meanings 1 verb to dig or rummage with or as if with the snout; to root about The pigs rootled in the mud for fallen acorns. Thesaurus Synonyms 1 verb · to dig or rummage with or... rootrummageforagediggrubburrow Word family Derived forms rootledrootling Related forms rootrout Etymology AI details A frequentative of root (the verb meaning 'to dig with the snout'), from Old English wrōtan ('to root up'), with the diminutive/frequentative suffix -le. wrōtan Old English View etymology graph -> Topics Plants & Agriculture External links Cambridge Dictionary Wiktionary Google Images # rootle **Type:** Word **Level:** C2+ **Part of speech:** verb **IPA (US):** /ˈrutl/ **IPA (UK):** /ˈruːtl/ ## Meanings 1. to dig or rummage with or as if with the snout; to root about ## Examples - The pigs rootled in the mud for fallen acorns. ## Synonyms - root - rummage - forage - dig - grub - burrow ## Derived Forms - rootled - rootling ## Related Forms - root - rout ## Roots and Affixes - Root: wrōtan ## Etymology A frequentative of root (the verb meaning 'to dig with the snout'), from Old English wrōtan ('to root up'), with the diminutive/frequentative suffix -le. ## AI Etymology Rootle is from a frequentative of root (the verb meaning 'to dig with the snout'), from Old English wrōtan ('to root up'), with the diminutive/frequentative suffix -le. The historical chain includes Old English wrōtan. Older glosses in the chain include "to dig with the snout" and "to root up", which help explain the semantic range of the modern word. Morphologically, rootle is best read as suffixal formation and borrowing, yielding an English verb shaped by both form history and later usage. In current English it functions as a verb, with the sense "to dig or rummage with or as if with the snout; to root about". English derivatives include rootled and rootling; related forms include root and rout. The result is an English verb whose etymology preserves the older forms while supporting the word's specialized modern meaning. ## Topics - Plants & Agriculture markdown