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*wréh₂ds1‘root’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*wrōts1‘root’reconstructed
- Old Norsec. 800–1350rót1‘root’
- Old Englishc. 450–1150rōt1‘root’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500rote1‘underground part of a plant’
- Englishearliest quotation 1530root1
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, English root
- Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1530, Iohan Palſgrave, The Introduction: “In ſo moche that if any verbe be of…”.
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*wréh₂dsWiktionary, English root‘root’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*wrōtsWiktionary, English root‘root’reconstructed
- Old Norsec. 800–1350rótWiktionary, English root‘root’
- Old Englishc. 450–1150rōtWiktionary, English root‘root’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500roteWiktionary, English root‘underground part of a plant’
- Englishearliest quotation 1530rootWiktionary, English root. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1530, Iohan Palſgrave, The Introduction: “In ſo moche that if any verbe be of…”
Word family
English words that share an ancestor with root, grouped by the ancestor they share, most familiar first.
through Proto-Indo-European *wréh₂ds
- race ← raïz ← radix ← *wrādīks
- radical ← rādīcālis ← rādīx ← *wrādīks
- eradicate ← eradicaten ← eradicat ← ērādīcātus ← ērādīcō
- eradication ← ērādīcātiō ← ērādīcō ← rādīx ← *wrādīks
- radish ← radiche ← rǣdiċ ← *rādik ← radix
- rance ← ranche ← ramex ← rāmus ← *wrādmos
- radix ← *wrādīks
- ramus ← *wrādmos ← *wr(e)h₂dmos
through Proto-Germanic *wrōts
- wort ← wyrt ← *wurti
through Middle English rote ‘the underground part of a plant’
27 more relatives in the full family tree
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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).
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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.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “root”. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *wréh₂ds / root