Taproot

3 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Taproot \Tap"root`\, n. (Bot.)
     The root of a plant which penetrates the earth directly
     downward to a considerable depth without dividing.
     [1913 Webster]

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:



  taproot
       n 1: (botany) main root of a plant growing straight downward from
            the stem
       2: something that provides an important central source for
          growth or development; "the taproot of his resentment";
          "genius and insanity spring from the same taproot"

From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:

  28 Moby Thesaurus words for "taproot":
     beginning, bulb, bulbil, commencement, conception, corm,
     derivation, genesis, grass roots, head, inception, origin,
     original, origination, provenience, radical, radicle, radix,
     rhizome, rise, root, rootstock, source, stem, stock, tap, tuber,
     tubercle