The word root has a number of specific meanings - all derived from the original botanical meaning - in a variety of different fields:

Botany

• root (biology) - the part of a plant below ground. See tree.

Mathematics

• square root - √x is the non-negative real number which, when multiplied by itself, gives x.
• root (mathematics) - parameter value for which a formula is zero.
• radix (from Latin, root) - the number base of a numeral system.

Computing

• the root of a tree structure is the starting node
• Root directory
• superuser - the privileged Unix user account.
• ROOT - an object oriented histogramming package

Music

• root (chord) - the tonic chord in a key
• American roots music - an early form of American music.
• The Roots an alternative hip hop group.
• Roots (album) an album of the Brazilian trash metal band Sepultura.

Literature and Popular Culture

• Roots (novel) - a 1976 novel by Alex Haley
• Roots (TV miniseries) - a 1977 television mini-series based on the novel

Place Names

• Root, New York - a location in Montgomery County, New York

Other Uses

• Root cause - primary source, origin. See epistemology, e.g.
  • Roots of anti-Semitism
• root (linguistics) - the core form of a word in linguistics

See also

• radical - original meaning: "pertaining to the root(s)"

External links

• Thesaurus.com: root