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: 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}, {source}]
3: (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}]
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: 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: dig with the snout; "the pig was rooting for truffles" [syn:
{rout}, {rootle}]
3: take sides with; align oneself with; sympathize with [syn: {side}]