Etymograph

English

rootball

From root + ball.

A compound of root + ball

Proto-Indo-European *wréh₂ds ‘root’

Proto-Germanic *wrōts ‘root’

Old Norse rót ‘root’

Old English rōt ‘root’

Middle English rote ‘underground part of a plant’

English root

Proto-Indo-European *bʰel- ‘to blow’

Proto-Germanic *balluz ‘round object’

Old English *beall

Middle English bal ‘a ball’

English ball

Today it means

noun The mass of roots and associated soil that comes up with a plant lifted from the soil or from a container.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “rootball”. 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 / rootball

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