1. The condition of belonging to a particular place or group by virtue of social or ethnic or cultural lineage
   "his music has African roots"; "his roots in Texas go back a long way"; "he went back to Sweden to search for his roots"

1. (botany) the usually underground organ that lacks buds, leaves or nodes; absorbs water and mineral salts; usually it anchors the plant to the ground
   "The tree's extensive root system helped prevent soil erosion"
    
2. The place where something begins, where it springs into being
   "communism's Russian root";
   - beginning, origin, rootage, source
    
3. (linguistics) the form of a word after all affixes are removed
   "thematic vowels are part of the root";
   - root word, base, stem, theme, radical
    
4. A simple form inferred as the common basis from which related words in several languages can be derived by linguistic processes
   "The Latin word 'pater' is the root of the English word 'father'";
   - etymon
    
5. A number that, when multiplied by itself some number of times, equals a given number
   "The square root of 9 is 3"
    
6. The set of values that give a true statement when substituted into an equation
   "The quadratic equation had two roots";
   - solution
    
7. The embedded part of a bodily structure such as a tooth, nail, or hair
   "The dentist performed a root canal on the infected tooth"
    
8. Someone from whom you are descended (but usually more remote than a grandparent)
   "She traced her roots back to 17th century Scotland";
   - ancestor, ascendant, ascendent, antecedent
    
9. [Austral, NZ, vulgar] Slang for sexual intercourse
   - rumpy-pumpy [informal]
    
10. (computing) the highest directory of a directory structure
    "The system files are typically stored in the root directory"

1. Take root and begin to grow
   "this plant roots quickly"
    
2. Cause to take roots
   "They rooted the cuttings in water before planting"
    
3. Become settled or established and stable in one's residence or life style
   "After years of moving, they finally took root in a small town";
   - settle, take root, steady down, settle down
    
4. Come into existence, originate
   "The problem roots in her depression"
    
5. Plant by the roots
   "They rooted the young trees in the prepared soil"
    
6. Cheer for
   "She roots for the Broncos"
    
7. Dig with the snout
   "the pig was rooting for truffles";
   - rout, rootle [Brit]
    
8. [Austral, NZ, vulgar] Have sexual intercourse
   - sleep together, love, make love, sleep with, have sex, know [archaic], do it [informal], be intimate, have intercourse, lie with [archaic], bed [informal], get it on [informal]

Sounds like: root, roots

Type of: anatomical structure, back up, become, bodily structure, body structure, carnal knowledge, coition, coitus, complex body part, condition, copulate, copulation, couple, cut into, delve [archaic], descriptor, dig, flesh and blood, form, grow, intercourse, mate, number, pair, plant, plant organ, point, relation, relative, set, sex act, sexual congress, sexual intercourse, sexual relation, signifier, stabilise [Brit], stabilize, structure, support, turn over, word form

Part of: chopper [informal], hair, nail, root system, rootage, tooth

Encyclopedia: Roots, Rock, Reggae