roots

Noun

• the condition of belonging to a particular place or group by virtue of social or ethnic or cultural lineage
  • "his roots in Texas go back a long way"
  • "he went back to Sweden to search for his roots"
  • "his music has African roots"
• (botany) the usually underground organ that lacks buds or leaves or nodes; absorbs water and mineral salts; usually it anchors the plant to the ground
• the place where something begins, where it springs into being
• (linguistics) the form of a word after all affixes are removed
• a number that, when multiplied by itself some number of times, equals a given number
• the set of values that give a true statement when substituted into an equation
• someone from whom you are descended (but usually more remote than a grandparent)
• a simple form inferred as the common basis from which related words in several languages can be derived by linguistic processes
• the part of a tooth that is embedded in the jaw and serves as support
• plural of root
• Ancestry.
• Beginnings; origin.
• Grown-out hair, often of a grey or natural colour.

Verb

• take root and begin to grow
  • "this plant roots quickly"
• come into existence, originate
  • "The problem roots in her depression"
• plant by the roots
• dig with the snout
• become settled or established and stable in one's residence or life style
• cause to take roots

Examples

• I have both Irish and German roots.
• I just coloured my hair and already my roots are showing.
• Jazz has its roots in blues.

Synonyms

ancestor, antecedent, ascendant, ascendent, base, beginning, etymon, origin, radical, root, root word, rootage, rootle, rout, settle, settle down, solution, source, steady down, stem, take root, theme, tooth root

Antonyms

descendant

Related Words

root, rootsy