root

Where does the word "root" come from? It comes from Old Norse rot, and was adopted directly into English (1200s).

Root’s story begins in Old Norse: rot meant “the underground part of a plant.” The underground part of a plant, replacing an earlier native English word. It reached English by 1200s as root. Settled as the standard English word for a plant's underground structure. Today, root means the part of a plant that grows underground, or the origin of something.

1. Stage 1 · Old Norse · medieval rot "the underground part of a plant", the underground part of a plant, replacing an earlier native English word.
2. Stage 2 · English · 1200s root "the underground part of a plant", settled as the standard English word for a plant's underground structure.