root English · revision 5372

+ Root, the part of a plant, and root, to dig with the snout, are different words, though they have influenced each other.^(Cresswell 2021)^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ruːt/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ {{homograph|1|part of a plant}}

+

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=a. 1150|origins=non rót}}

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ The part of a plant is [[inh|enm|rote|alt=rot, rote]], [[inh|ang|rōt]], [[bor|non|rót|t=root; cause, origin]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986) from [[gem-pro|*wrot]], the source also of Old English wyrt “root, herb” and Gothic waurts, with the Scandinavian loss of w before r,^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) from [[ine-pro|*wrād-|t=branch, root]], the source also of Latin rādīx.^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) It is related to [[wort]] and [[radical]].^(Etymonline)^(Cresswell 2021)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The part of a plant below the ground: 1127 in Barnhart, before 1150 in the OED.^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989) The usual Old English words were wyrttruma and wyrtwala.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The figurative use, the source of a quality or condition, is from the late 12th century, as in Tyndale's “coveteousnes is the rote of all evylle” (1526).^(Etymonline) The base of teeth or hair is from the early 13th century.^(Etymonline) ''Take root'' is from the mid-15th century.^(Etymonline) In grammar and philology it is from the 1520s, and in mathematics from the 1550s.^(Etymonline) ''Root and branch'' goes back to the biblical book of Malachi.^(Cresswell 2021) ''Root beer'' is from 1841–43, American English,^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) and ''roots'', one's ties with a place or culture, is a later sense.^(AHD) The verb, to fix firmly, is from before 1200, and to pull out by the roots from before 1387.^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1127 – the underground part of a plant.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * late 12th century – source, cause.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1520s – in philology.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1550s – in mathematics.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1841 – ''root beer''.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # The part of a plant that grows down into the soil, holds it in place and takes in water and food.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # The part of a tooth, hair or nail that is under the skin.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # The cause or origin of something: ''the root of the problem''.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # ''(roots)'' One's family origins or ties with a place or culture.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # ''(linguistics)'' The basic part of a word from which other words are formed.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # ''(mathematics)'' A number that, multiplied by itself a given number of times, gives another number: ''the square root''.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ===Verb===

+ # To grow roots.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # To fix firmly, or to become established.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # ''(with out or up)'' To pull up or get rid of completely.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ {{homograph|2|dig, rummage}}

+

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=c. 725|origins=gem-pro *wrōtaną}}

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ To dig with the snout is [[inh|enm|wroten]], [[inh|ang|wrōtan|t=to root up]], altered under the influence of the plant root,^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986) from [[gem-pro|*wrōtaną|alt=*wrōtanan]], the source also of Dutch wroeten and Old Norse róta,^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) from [[ine-pro|*wrod-|t=to root, gnaw]].^(Etymonline) Word Origins suggests a link with Latin rōdere “to gnaw”.^(Cresswell 2021)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Of swine, to dig with the snout: about 1200 as wroten, and as root from 1538, in Leland's Itinerary.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ To poke about or search is by 1831.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) ''Root hog or die'', work or fail, is first attested in 1834 in the works of Davy Crockett.^(Etymonline) To study or work hard is from 1856, which according to Barnhart and Etymonline led to the American sense “to cheer or support”, first in baseball, in 1889.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) MWU instead suggests this sense is an alteration of [[rout]].^(MWU 2024)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 725 – Old English wrōtan.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1538 – the form root.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1831 – to rummage.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1856 – to work hard.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1889 – to cheer.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Verb===

+ # Of a pig, to dig in the earth with the snout.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # To search by turning things over; to [[rummage]].^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # ''(with for)'' To cheer for or support a team or person.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[wort]]

+ * [[radical]]

+ * [[radish]]

+ * [[rootless]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}