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Crux vs Root - What's the difference?

crux | root |

As proper nouns the difference between crux and root

is that crux is (constellation) a distinctive winter constellation of the southern sky, shaped like a cross it appears in the flags of several countries in oceania while root is .

crux

English

Noun

(en-noun)
  • The basic, central, or essential point or feature.
    • The crux of her argument was that the roadways needed repair before anything else could be accomplished.
  • The critical or transitional moment or issue, a turning point.
  • * 1993 , Laurence M. Porter, "Real Dreams, Literary Dreams, and the Fantastic in Literature", pages 32-47 in'' Carol Schreier Rupprecht (ed.) ''The Dream and the Text: Essays on Literature and Language .
    • The mad certitude of the ogre, Abel Tiffauges, that he stands at the crux of history and that he will be able to raise Prussia "to a higher power" (p. 180), contrasts sharply with the anxiety and doubt attendant upon most modern literary dreams.
  • A puzzle or difficulty.
    • The perpetual crux of New Testament chronologists. — Strauss.
  • The hardest point of a climb.
  • * 1973 , Pat Armstrong, "Klondike Fever: Seventy Years Too Late", in Backpacker , Autumn 1973, page 84:
    • The final half-mile was the crux of the climb.
  • * 2004 , Craig Luebben, Rock Climbing: Mastering Basic Skills , The Mountaineers Books, ISBN 9780898867435, page 179:
    • Most pitches have a distinct crux', or tough spot; some have multiple '''cruxes'''. ¶ Climb efficiently on the "cruiser" sections to stay fresh for the ' cruxes .
  • * 2009 , R. J. Secor, The High Sierra: Peaks, Passes, and Trails , Third Edition, The Mountaineers Books, ISBN 9780898869712, page 51:
    • Continue climbing the groove; the crux is passing some vegetation on the second pitch.
  • (heraldiccharge) A cross on a coat of arms.

    • Related terms

    * cross * crucial

    root

    English

    Etymology 1

    From (etyl) ; cognate with wort and radix.

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • The part of a plant, generally underground, that absorbs water and nutrients.
    • This tree's roots can go as deep as twenty metres underground.
  • A root vegetable.
  • *
    • two fields which should have been sown with roots in the early summer were not sown because the ploughing had not been completed early enough.
  • The part of a tooth extending into the bone holding the tooth in place.
    • Root damage is a common problem of overbrushing.
  • The part of a hair under the skin that holds the hair in place.
    • The root is the only part of the hair that is alive.
  • The part of a hair near the skin that has not been dyed, permed, or otherwise treated.
    • He dyed his hair black last month, so the grey roots can be seen.
  • The primary source; origin.
    • The love of money is the root of all evil.
  • * John Locke
    • They were the roots out of which sprang two distinct people.
  • (arithmetic) Of a number or expression, a number which, when raised to a specified power, yields the specified number or expression.
    • The cube root of 27 is 3.
  • (arithmetic) A square root (understood if no power is specified; in which case, “the root of” is often abbreviated to “root”).
    • Multiply by root 2.
  • (analysis) A zero (of a function).
  • (graph theory, computing) The single node of a tree that has no parent.
  • (linguistic morphology) The primary lexical unit of a word, which carries the most significant aspects of semantic content and cannot be reduced into smaller constituents. Inflectional stems often derive from roots.
  • (philology) A word from which another word or words are derived.
  • (music) The fundamental tone of any chord; the tone from whose harmonics, or overtones, a chord is composed.
    • (Busby)
  • The lowest place, position, or part.
  • * Milton
    • deep to the roots of hell
  • * Southey
    • the roots of the mountains
  • (computing) In UNIX terminology, the first user account with complete access to the operating system and its configuration, found at the root of the directory structure.
  • (computing) The person who manages accounts on a UNIX system.
  • (computing) The highest directory of a directory structure which may contain both files and subdirectories. (rfex)
    • Synonyms
    * (source) basis, origin, source * (zero of a function) zero * (word from which another is derived) etymon * superuser (), root account, root user
    Antonyms
    * (zero of a function) pole
    Holonyms
    * (zero of a function) kernel
    Derived terms
    * cube root * functional root * put down roots * root canal * root cause * rootkit * roots * roots music * rootsy * square root * strictly roots * take root * taproot * root gap

    Verb

    (en verb)
  • (computing, slang, transitive) To break into a computer system and obtain root access.
    • We rooted his box and planted a virus on it.
  • To fix the root; to enter the earth, as roots; to take root and begin to grow.
  • * Mortimer
    • In deep grounds the weeds root deeper.
  • * '>citation
  • To be firmly fixed; to be established.
  • * Bishop Fell
    • If any irregularity chanced to intervene and to cause misapprehensions, he gave them not leave to root and fasten by concealment.

    See also

    * (linguistics) stem

    Etymology 2

    From (etyl) . Cognate with rodent. Cognate with Dutch wroeten.

    Verb

    (en verb)
  • To turn up or dig with the snout.
    • A pig roots the earth for truffles.
  • (by extension) To seek favour or advancement by low arts or grovelling servility; to fawn.
  • To rummage, to search as if by digging in soil.
    • rooting about in a junk-filled drawer
  • To root out; to abolish.
  • * Shakespeare
    • I will go root away the noisome weeds.
  • * Bible, Deuteronomy xxix. 28
    • The Lord rooted them out of their land and cast them into another land.
  • (Australia, New Zealand, vulgar, slang) To have sexual intercourse.
    • Usage notes
    * The Australian/New Zealand sexual sense is somewhat milder than fuck but still quite coarse, certainly not for polite conversation. The sexual sense will often be understood, unless care is taken with the context to make the rummage sense clear, or 'root through' or 'root around' is used. The past participle rooted'' is equivalent to ''fucked'' in the figurative sense of broken or tired, but ''rooting'' is only the direct verbal sense, not an all-purpose intensive like ''fucking .
    Synonyms
    * (rummage) dig out, root out, rummage * (have sexual intercourse) screw, bang, drill (US), shag (British) - See also
    Derived terms
    * root about * rooted * root out * root up

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • (Australia, New Zealand, vulgar, slang) An act of sexual intercourse.
    • Fancy a root ?
  • (Australia, New Zealand, vulgar, slang) A sexual partner.
    • Usage notes
    * The Australian/New Zealand sexual sense of root'' is somewhat milder than ''fuck'' but still quite coarse, certainly not for polite conversation. The normal usage is ''to have a root or similar.
    Synonyms
    * (act of sexual intercourse) screw (qualifier), shag (UK); see also * (sexual partner) screw (US)

    Etymology 3

    Possibly an alteration of , influenced by hoot

    Verb

    (en verb)
  • (intransitive, with for, US) To cheer to show support for.
  • * 1908 ,
    • Let me root', '''root''', ' root for the home team,
  • (US) To hope for the success of. Rendered as 'root for'.
    • I'm rooting for you, don't let me down!
    Synonyms
    * (cheer) barrack (qualifier), cheer on

    Anagrams

    * ----