radical English · revision 5947

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=1398|origins=la-lat radicalis}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˈræd.ɪ.kəl/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[bor|la-lat|rādīcālis|t=of or having roots]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986)^(MWU 2024) from [[m|la|rādīx|t=root]] (genitive rādīcis),^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) which is related to English [[root]] and is the source of [[eradicate]] and [[radish]].^(Cresswell 2021)^(MWU 2024)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Before 1398, in Trevisa, of bodily organs or fluids vital to life,^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) especially radical humidity or moisture, which medieval philosophy held inherent in all living things.^(OED 1989)^(Hoad 1986)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Etymonline notes that the basic sense in all meanings is “relating to a root”, hence “thoroughgoing, extreme”.^(Etymonline) Inherent or fundamental is from 1562,^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1988) forming the basis from 1560,^(OED 1989) and going to the origin, thorough, from 1651.^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline) ''Radical reform'' was a phrase of English politics from 1786,^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) and by 1817 radical named the extreme section of the British Liberals;^(Etymonline) the noun for an advocate of fundamental reform is from 1802.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) Favouring extreme changes is from the 1840s in Barnhart,^(Barnhart 1988) and unconventional, as in radical design, from 1921.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) In philology the root of a word is a radical from the 1630s, 1641 in Barnhart;^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) the radical sign in mathematics is from the 1680s and is a modified letter r;^(Etymonline) in chemistry, a group of atoms acting as a unit, from French, is from 1816.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) ''Radical chic'' was popularized, if not coined, by Tom Wolfe in 1970.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) In US youth slang, “excellent”, it is from 1983, from 1970s surfers' “at the limits of control”.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1398 – vital to life.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1562 – inherent, fundamental.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1630s – the root of a word.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1651 – thorough.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1786 – ''radical reform''.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1802 – a radical reformer.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)

+ * 1816 – a chemical radical.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)

+ * 1921 – unconventional.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1970 – ''radical chic''.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Adjective===

+ # Relating to the basic nature of something; [[fundamental]]: ''radical differences''.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # Far-reaching or thorough; departing greatly from what is usual: ''radical changes''.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # Favouring thorough or revolutionary political or social change.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # ''(slang)'' Excellent.^(Etymonline)^(AHD)

+

+ ===Noun===

+ # A person who favours thorough or revolutionary change.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # ''(chemistry)'' An atom or group of atoms with an unpaired [[electron]]; a free radical.^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1988)

+ # ''(mathematics)'' A root of a quantity, or the sign that indicates it.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # ''(linguistics)'' The root of a word, or a basic component of a Chinese character.^(Etymonline)^(HTOED)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[radically]]

+ * [[radicalness]]

+ * [[antiradical]]

+ * [[biradical]]

+ * [[multiradical]]

+ * [[nonradical]]

+ * [[radicalise]]

+ * [[radicalism]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[root]]

+ * [[radix]]

+ * [[radish]]

+ * [[eradicate]]

+ * [[ramus]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}