The parts of plants that grow underground and absorb water and nutrients. The basic cause, source, or origin of something.
From Old English 'rot,' related to Old Norse 'rot' and Latin 'radix.' All ultimately from Proto-Indo-European 'wrad-' meaning 'branch, root.' The metaphorical sense of 'source' or 'origin' developed in Middle English.
The mathematical term 'square root' comes from the same source - it's the number that, when multiplied by itself, grows into the original number like a plant from its root! Many Indo-European languages use the same root for both plant roots and word roots, showing this ancient metaphor.
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