English
root
Root comes from Middle English rote, from late Old English rōt, from Old Norse rót, from Proto-Germanic *wrōts, from PIE *wréh₂ds.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*wréh₂ds‘root’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*wrōts‘root’reconstructed
- Old Norsec. 800–1350rót‘root’
- Old Englishc. 450–1150rōt‘root’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500rote‘underground part of a plant’
- Englishearliest quotation 1530root
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*wréh₂ds‘root’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*wrōts‘root’reconstructed
- Old Norsec. 800–1350rót‘root’
- Old Englishc. 450–1150rōt‘root’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500rote‘underground part of a plant’
- Englishearliest quotation 1530root
Earliest quotation: 1530, Iohan Palſgrave, The Introduction: “In ſo moche that if any verbe be of…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *wréh₂ds
race, radical, eradicate, eradication, radish, rance, radix, ramus, 27 more
through Proto-Germanic *wrōts
through Middle English rote ‘the underground part of a plant’
Another origin of root
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*Hreh₃d-‘to scrape, gnaw’uncertain
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*wrōtaną‘to dig out, to root’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*wrōtan‘to root, to dig with the nose’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150wrōtan‘to rummage or root up with one's snout’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500wrōten‘to dig with the snout’
- Englishtodayroot
Loss of initial w- probably due to influence from the related noun (Etymology 1).
Today it means
noun The part of a plant, generally underground, that anchors and supports the plant body, absorbs and stores water and nutrients, and in some plants is able to perform vegetative reproduction.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *wréh₂ds / root