root : Idioms & Phrases

• noun root growing in an unusual location e.g. from a stem
  

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• noun colicroot having a scurfy or granuliferous perianth and white flowers; southeastern United States
  Aletris farinosa; ague grass.
  

WordNet

Al"um root`

Definitions

1. (Bot.) A North American herb (Heuchera Americana) of the Saxifrage family, whose root has astringent properties.

Webster 1913

• noun one of two the two roots of a spinal nerve that passes ventrally from the spinal cord and that consists of motor fibers
  anterior root; ventral horn; anterior horn.
  

WordNet

• . (Bot.) (a) Small roots emitted from the stem of a plant in the open air, which, attaching themselves to the bark of trees, etc., serve to support the plant. (b) Large roots growing from the stem, etc., which descend and establish themselves in the soil. See Illust. of Mangrove.

Webster 1913

• the square root of the square root of that number. Thus the square root of 81 is 9, and the square root of 9 is 3, which is the biquadratic root of 81. Hutton.

Webster 1913

• noun fungus causing black root rot in apples
  Xylaria mali.
  

WordNet

• noun tall herb of eastern North America and Asia having blue berrylike fruit and a thick knotty rootstock formerly used medicinally
  blueberry root; papooseroot; blue cohosh; Caulophyllum thalictrioides; papoose root; squawroot; Caulophyllum thalictroides.
  

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• . (Bot.) See Indian physic, under Indian.

Webster 1913

• the root of the southern Smilax laurifolia and S. Walleri; used for tobacco pipes.

Webster 1913

• noun fungus causing brown root rot in plants of the pea and potato and cucumber families
  Thielavia basicola.
  

WordNet

• (Bot.), the name of several low plants, mostly parasitic on roots, as the beech drops, the squawroot, etc.

Webster 1913

• noun grown for its thickened edible aromatic root
  Apium graveolens rapaceum; root celery; celery root; knob celery; celeriac.
  
• noun thickened edible aromatic root of a variety of celery plant
  celeriac.
  

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• noun an abnormal condition resulting from compression of spinal nerve roots in the neck region; involves neck pains and muscular weakness and paresthesia
  cervical disc syndrome.
  

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• noun (mathematics) any number such that a given square matrix minus that number times the identity matrix has a zero determinant
  eigenvalue; eigenvalue of a matrix; eigenvalue of a square matrix.
  

WordNet

Chay" root`

Etymology

Definitions

1. The root of the Oldenlandia umbellata, native in India, which yieds a durable red dyestuff. Written also choy root.

Webster 1913

• noun the dried root of the chicory plant: used as a coffee substitute
  chicory.
  
• noun root of the chicory plant roasted and ground to substitute for or adulterate coffee
  chicory.
  

WordNet

• (Med.), the rootstock of a species of Smilax (S. China, from the East Indies; formerly much esteemed for the purposes that sarsaparilla is now used for. Also the galanga root (from Alpinia Gallanga and Alpinia officinarum).

Webster 1913

• noun erect perennial of north temperate zone having pinnate leaves and a few nodding flowers with a brown-purple calyx and orange and pink petals
  water avens; purple avens; Geum rivale; Indian chocolate.
  

WordNet

Choy" root`

Definitions

1. See Chay root.

Webster 1913

• noun hairy Eurasian plant with small yellow flowers and an astringent root formerly used medicinally
  herb bennet; Geum urbanum; cloveroot; wood avens.
  

WordNet

• (Bot.), a disease of cabbages, by which the roots become distorted and the heads spoiled.

Webster 1913

• noun any of several perennials of the genus Aletris having grasslike leaves and bitter roots reputed to cure colic
  colic root; star grass; crow corn; colicroot.
  

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• noun a wildflower of the genus Corallorhiza growing from a hard mass of rhizomes associated with a fungus that aids in absorbing nutrients from the forest floor
  

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• (Bot.), a genus (Corallorhiza) of orchideous plants, of a yellowish or brownish red color, parasitic on roots of other plants, and having curious jointed or knotted roots not unlike some kinds of coral. See Illust. under Coralloid.

Webster 1913

• noun European bittercress having a knotted white rootstock
  Dentaria bulbifera; coralwort; coralroot; Cardamine bulbifera.
  

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• noun orchid with yellowish-brown flowers with dark veins; southeastern Arizona to the eastern United States
  Hexalectris spicata.
  

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• noun North American herb with pungent scaly or toothed roots
  crinkleroot; Dentaria diphylla; crinkle root; crinkle-root; toothwort; Cardamine diphylla.
  

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• noun North American herb with pungent scaly or toothed roots
  crinkleroot; Dentaria diphylla; crinkle root; crinkle-root; toothwort; Cardamine diphylla.
  

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• noun a number that when multiplied three times equals a given number
  

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• . (Math.), the number or quantity which, multiplied into itself, and then into the product, produces the given cube; thus, 3 is the cube root of 27, for 3x3x3 = 27.

Webster 1913

• noun a tall perennial herb having spikes of small white or purple flowers; common in eastern North America
  Veronicastrum virginicum; whorlywort; Culver's physic; Culvers physic; Culver's root.
  

WordNet

• noun a tall perennial herb having spikes of small white or purple flowers; common in eastern North America
  Veronicastrum virginicum; whorlywort; Culver's physic; Culvers physic; Culver's root.
  

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• adjective satellite (used especially of ideas or principles) deeply rooted; firmly fixed or held
  ingrained; deep-seated; planted; implanted.
  
  • deep-rooted prejudice
  • deep-seated differences of opinion
  • implanted convictions
  • ingrained habits of a lifetime
  • a deeply planted need

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• noun woody vine having bright green leaves and racemes of rose-tinted white flowers; the swollen roots contain rotenone
  derris root; Derris elliptica.
  

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• noun one of the two roots of a spinal nerve that passes dorsally to the spinal cord and that consists of sensory fibers
  dorsal horn.
  

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• (Bot.), an American aroid plant (Arisæma Dracontium); green dragon.

Webster 1913

• noun plant having clumps of nearly leafless pale yellowish to greenish stems bearing similarly colored flowers with white lower lips; northern New Mexico north through South Dakota and Washington to Alaska
  Corallorhiza trifida; early coral root.
  

WordNet

• (Bot.), an American herb of the genus Triosteum (T. perfoliatum); called also feverwort amd horse gentian.

Webster 1913

• noun any of numerous begonias having fibrous rather than tuberous or rhizomatous roots
  

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• noun tall leafy European biennial or perennial having spectacular clusters of large tubular pink-purple flowers; leaves yield drug digitalis and are poisonous to livestock
  fairy bell; Digitalis purpurea; fingerroot; fingerflower; common foxglove; finger-flower.
  

WordNet

• the root of the sweet flag.

Webster 1913

• noun the essential foundation or source
  
  • the problem was attacked at the grass roots
• noun the common people at a local level (as distinguished from the centers of political activity)
  

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• noun a phase of crown gall (especially in apples) during which there is abnormal development of fine fibrous roots
  

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• . (Bot.) See Moschatel.

Webster 1913

• noun the root of the horseradish plant; it is grated or ground and used for seasoning
  horseradish.
  

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• noun root of licorice used in flavoring e.g. candy and liqueurs and medicines
  

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• noun the root of the mandrake plant; used medicinally or as a narcotic
  mandrake.
  

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• (Bot.), a name given to the numerous roots emitted from the radicle in many plants, as the squash.

Webster 1913

• (Bot.), the name of several roots with a strong odor, as that of the nard (Nardostachys Jatamansi) and of a species of Angelica.

Webster 1913

• (Bot.), an umbelliferous plant (Cicuta maculata), having a poisonous root. See Water hemlock.

Webster 1913

• (Bot.) the root of a species of Strychnos growing in West Africa, used, like the ordeal bean, in trials for witchcraft.

Webster 1913

• the fragrant rootstock of the orris.

Webster 1913

• noun plant having clumps of nearly leafless pale yellowish to greenish stems bearing similarly colored flowers with white lower lips; northern New Mexico north through South Dakota and Washington to Alaska
  Corallorhiza trifida; early coral root.
  

WordNet

• noun tall herb of eastern North America and Asia having blue berrylike fruit and a thick knotty rootstock formerly used medicinally
  blueberry root; papooseroot; blue cohosh; Caulophyllum thalictrioides; papoose root; squawroot; Caulophyllum thalictroides.
  

WordNet

• . (Bot.) See Cohosh.

Webster 1913

• noun North American herb with pungent scaly or toothed roots
  crinkleroot; Dentaria diphylla; crinkle root; crinkle-root; toothwort; Cardamine diphylla.
  

WordNet

• . (Bot.). See Coralwort.

Webster 1913

• noun erect perennial of eastern and southern United States having showy orange flowers
  butterfly weed; Indian paintbrush; pleurisy root; chigger flower; chiggerflower; Asclepias tuberosa; orange milkweed.
  

WordNet

• . (Bot.) (a) The large tuberous root of a kind of milkweed (Asclepias tuberosa) which is used as a remedy for pleuritic and other diseases . (b) The plant itself, which has deep orange-colored flowers; called also butterfly weed.

Webster 1913

• (Bot.), such as have an abrupt, ragged, and irregular termination, as if bitten off short.

Webster 1913

• (Bot.), the central, first-formed, main root, from which the rootlets are given off.

Webster 1913

• noun a root that grows from and supports the stem above the ground in plants such as mangroves
  

WordNet

• . Same as Rape.

Webster 1913

• noun herb of central and southern Europe having purple florets
  Prenanthes purpurea.
  
• noun a plant of the genus Nabalus
  

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• (Bot.), a name given to certain American species of the composite genus Prenanthes (P. alba and P. serpentaria), formerly asserted to cure the bite of the rattlesnake. Calling also lion's foot, gall of the earth, and white lettuce.

Webster 1913

• (Alg.), the root of a residual quantity, as &root;(a-b).

Webster 1913

• . (Bot.) See Twinleaf.

Webster 1913

• every part; wholly; completely; as, to destroy an error root and branch.

Webster 1913

• (Zoöl.), one of the Rhizocephala.

Webster 1913

• noun carbonated drink containing extracts of roots and herbs
  

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• noun an ice-cream soda made with ice cream floating in root beer
  

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• noun the passage in the root of a tooth through which its nerve and blood vessels enter the pulp cavity
  

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• noun thimble-shaped mass of cells covering and protecting the growing tip of a root
  

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• noun grown for its thickened edible aromatic root
  Apium graveolens rapaceum; root celery; celery root; knob celery; celeriac.
  

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• noun an excavation where root vegetables are stored
  cellar.
  

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• noun a plant that climbs by its adventitious roots e.g. ivy
  

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• noun crop grown for its enlarged roots: e.g. beets; potatoes; turnips
  

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• verb take sides with; align oneself with; show strong sympathy for
  pull.
  
  • We all rooted for the home team
  • I'm pulling for the underdog
  • Are you siding with the defender of the title?

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• noun thin hairlike outgrowth of an epidermal cell just behind the tip; absorbs nutrients from the soil
  

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• (Bot.), one of the slender, hairlike fibers found on the surface of fresh roots. They are prolongations of the superficial cells of the root into minute tubes. Gray.

Webster 1913

• (Bot.), a radical leaf. See Radical, a., 3 (b).

Webster 1913

• (Zoöl.), any plant louse, or aphid, which lives on the roots of plants, as the Phylloxera of the grapevine. See Phylloxera.

Webster 1913

• (Anat.), the part of a nail which is covered by the skin.

Webster 1913

• (Anat.), the part of a tooth contained in the socket and consisting of one or more fangs.

Webster 1913

• (Alg.), that value which, substituted for the unknown quantity in an equation, satisfies the equation.

Webster 1913

• verb spur on or encourage especially by cheers and shouts
  urge; inspire; exhort; barrack; cheer; urge on; pep up.
  
  • The crowd cheered the demonstrating strikers

WordNet

• verb pull up by or as if by the roots
  uproot; extirpate; deracinate.
  
  • uproot the vine that has spread all over the garden
• verb destroy completely, as if down to the roots
  exterminate; uproot; extirpate; eradicate.
  
  • the vestiges of political democracy were soon uprooted" "root out corruption

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• noun disease characterized by root decay; caused by various fungi
  

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• noun a developed system of roots
  rootage.
  

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• noun any of various fleshy edible underground roots or tubers
  

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• noun (linguistics) the form of a word after all affixes are removed
  radical; stem; theme; base; root.
  
  • thematic vowels are part of the stem

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• radical reformers; a designation applied to the English Independents (1641). See Citation under Radical, n., 2.

Webster 1913

• noun reflex consisting of head-turning and sucking movements elicited in a normal infant by gently stroking the side of the mouth or cheek
  

WordNet

• noun Eurasian mountain plant with fleshy pink-tipped leaves and a cluster of yellow flowers
  Sedum rosea; midsummer-men.
  

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• noun dried root of any of various plants of the genus Smilax used as a flavoring agent
  

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• (Bot.), roots emitted from any part of the plant above the radicle.

Webster 1913

• (Bot.), the rootstock of an American species of milkworth (Polygala Senega) having an aromatic but bitter taste. It is often used medicinally as an expectorant and diuretic, and, in large doses, as an emetic and cathartic. Written also Senega root, and Seneka root.

Webster 1913

• noun eastern North American plant having a terminal cluster of small white flowers and medicinal roots
  senega snakeroot; Polygala senega; Seneca snakeroot; Seneka snakeroot; senega root.
  

WordNet

• noun eastern North American plant having a terminal cluster of small white flowers and medicinal roots
  senega snakeroot; Polygala senega; Seneca snakeroot; Seneka snakeroot; senega root.
  

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• noun common coral root having yellowish- or reddish- or purplish-brown leafless stems bearing loose racemes of similarly colored flowers with white purple-spotted lips; Guatemala to Canada
  Corallorhiza maculata.
  

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• noun a number that when multiplied by itself equals a given number
  

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• (Math.), that number or quantity which, multiplied by itself produces the given number or quantity.

Webster 1913

• noun tall herb of eastern North America and Asia having blue berrylike fruit and a thick knotty rootstock formerly used medicinally
  blueberry root; papooseroot; blue cohosh; Caulophyllum thalictrioides; papoose root; squawroot; Caulophyllum thalictroides.
  

WordNet

• noun erect perennial strong-scented with serrate pointed leaves and a loose panicle of yellowish flowers; the eastern United States
  horseweed; stone root; horse balm; richweed; stoneroot; Collinsonia canadensis.
  

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• noun erect perennial strong-scented with serrate pointed leaves and a loose panicle of yellowish flowers; the eastern United States
  horseweed; stone root; horse balm; richweed; stoneroot; Collinsonia canadensis.
  

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• noun nearly leafless wildflower with erect reddish-purple stems bearing racemes of pale pinkish and brownish-striped flowers; western Canada to Mexico
  Corallorhiza striata.
  

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• verb become settled or established and stable in one's residence or life style
  settle; root; steady down; settle down.
  
  • He finally settled down

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• noun tropical starchy tuberous root
  cocoyam; edda; dasheen; taro.
  

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• . (Math.) (a) The operation of finding the root of a given number or quantity. (b) The method or rule by which the operation is performed; evolution.

Webster 1913

• noun coarse weedy American perennial herb with large usually perfoliate leaves and purple or dull red flowers
  Triostium perfoliatum; feverroot; wild coffee; horse gentian.
  

WordNet

• (Math.), to ascertain the root of a number or quantity.

Webster 1913

• to send forth roots; to become fixed in the earth, etc., by a root; hence, in general, to become planted, fixed, or established; to increase and spread; as, an opinion takes root. "The bended twigs take root." Milton.

Webster 1913

• See under Place, Root, Side, etc.

Webster 1913

• noun the part of a tooth that is embedded in the jaw and serves as support
  root.
  

WordNet

• noun woody vine having bright green leaves and racemes of rose-tinted white flowers; the swollen roots contain rotenone
  derris root; Derris elliptica.
  

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• noun erect perennial of eastern and southern United States having showy orange flowers
  butterfly weed; Indian paintbrush; pleurisy root; chigger flower; chiggerflower; Asclepias tuberosa; orange milkweed.
  

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• noun perennial herb of northeastern United States having a thick knotted yellow rootstock and large rounded leaves
  goldenseal; turmeric root; golden seal; Hydrastis Canadensis.
  

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• . (Bot.) (a) Bloodroot. (b) Orangeroot.

Webster 1913

• noun grown for its thickened edible aromatic root
  Apium graveolens rapaceum; root celery; celery root; knob celery; celeriac.
  

WordNet

• noun parsley with smooth leaves and enlarged edible taproot resembling a savory parsnip
  Hamburg parsley; Petroselinum crispum tuberosum.
  

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• noun any of several perennials of the genus Aletris having grasslike leaves and bitter roots reputed to cure colic
  colic root; star grass; crow corn; colicroot.
  

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• (Bot.), a name of two North American plants, the yellow-flowered colicroot (Aletris farinosa) and the blazing star (Chamælirium luteum). Both are used in medicine.

Webster 1913

• noun one of two the two roots of a spinal nerve that passes ventrally from the spinal cord and that consists of motor fibers
  anterior root; ventral horn; anterior horn.
  

WordNet

• noun perennial herb of northeastern United States having a thick knotted yellow rootstock and large rounded leaves
  goldenseal; turmeric root; golden seal; Hydrastis Canadensis.
  

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