root

I

n

1.Anat., Zool. radix, Bot. radicle, Bot. rootlet, Bot. taprot, Bot. rhizome, Bot. rootstock; Bot. tuber, Bot. bulb, Bot. bulbil, earthnut, groundnut.

2. base, foundation, basis, seat, foot, footing, sub-structure, lower part, bottom, downside.

3. fundamental, principle, radical, rudiment, basal portion; starting place or point, point of departure, takeoff, takeoff point, conception, inception, commencement, start; premise, proposition, presupposition, hypothesis, thesis; reason, rationale, motive, cause, occasion, ground, causation, mainspring, causality, leaven; basic element or part, essential part, egg, ovum, germ, nucleus, seed, embryo, bud; grass roots, stem, stock; source, origin, beginning, derivation, rise, fountainhead, font, Latin, fons et origo; wellspring, spring, head.

4. roots heritage, country, land, nationality, fatherland, motherland, mother country, native land, native soil, homeland; birthplace, breeding place, cradle, nursery, womb, origin, place of birth, genesis, origination; antecedents, ancestors, predecessors, forefathers, forebears, family, ancestry, lineage, line, extraction, bloodline, descent, strain, stock, race; genealogy, pedigree, family tree; house, ancestral home.

v

5. become fixed or established, send out roots, get a footing, strike, settle.

6. take root

begin to grow, sprout, develop, germinate, flourish, thrive, mushroom, spread, spring up.

7. implant, plant, embed, fix, fasten, graft, insert, establish or sink deeply; place, set, put, situate, lay, station, deposit.

8. pull or tear or dig up, uproot, eradicate, tear out, tear up by the roots, dig out, weed out; extirpate, exterminate, remove, destroy, do away with, abolish.

II

v

1. poke, pry, search or poke around, dig, delve, nose around, scrabble, ransack, rummage, rake, rifle; look everywhere, look into every nook and cranny, search every corner, look high and low, Inf. beat the bushes.

2. unearth, discover, reveal, uncover, expose, bring to light; search or hunt out, pry or dig out, ferret or hound out, grub up, nose or smell or sniff out, run to ground or earth.

III

v

1. cheer, give a cheer, applaud, hail, give a hand or a big hand, cry or shout or yell for, yell oneself hoarse; huzzah, hurrah, hurray, Australian, Brit. barrack.

2. support, lend moral support, cheer on, bolster, boost, encourage; urge on, Inf. egg on, goad or spur on, pat or clap on the back.