s 
R O O 
people, under two distinct governments. Locke. —Fixed 
residence; impression; durable effect.—That love took 
deepest root, which first did grow. Drt/den. 
ROOTS of Words are primitive words of a language. 
Thus, in the Latin, Jluo is the root of jluctus, fluxio, 
Jlumen, fluvial is, infuxus, refluens,JIuctifcr,Jhictisonus, 
fuctivagus, 8fc. Thus also the Greek is the root of 
adeoi;, ev9eoevdov<na<rp.o<;, &c. 
And thus also, though in a less proper sense, the Danish 
rood is the root of the English word root; the Latin radix 
the root of the French racbie, as rado is the root of radix ; 
and perhaps the root of rado. 
Roots in the Hebrew language, consist of those letters that 
are denominated radical, and are generally verbs, consisting 
commonly of three, sometimes of two, and rarely of four 
letters. Of whatever letters, whether radical or servile, any 
word consists, it must, at least, contain one of a radical 
character. The investigation of the radical and a primitive 
is an object of importance in grammar. In order to facilitate 
their investigation in the Hebrew, and other eastern languages, 
it is necessary to be well acquainted with the division of the 
letters into radical and servile because these last must be 
rejected before the root is obtained. 
If the root consists of pure radicals, commonly three in 
number, it is easily found, and as easily divested of the ser- 
viles which attend it. But, as the servile letters may also 
constitute roots, ' it is sometimes a matter of difficulty to dis¬ 
tinguish when these letters ought to be considered in their 
radical, and when in their servile capacity. This difficulty 
is increased in the verbs denominated imperfect . For, in 
some of their parts, either by contraction, or commutation, 
these verbs lose sometimes one, sometimes two of their radical 
letters, which must be restored to their place before the root 
can be exhibited in its true form. 
The learner must therefore endeavour, by frequent prac¬ 
tice, to acquire a dexterity in discovering the radical letters, 
in divesting them of their serviles, and in restoring them 
where they are lost by the abbreviated flexions. This exer¬ 
cise is the most necessary, as, in almost all lexicons, the 
words are arranged according to the alphabetical order of 
the roots. These are commonly printed in a larger character, 
and have below them their derivatives, as children and de¬ 
scendants. By this plan, neither the signification of any 
verb, nor of any noun derived from it, can be found, till 
its root be investigated and determined. 
Tire following directions will be found useful in the inves¬ 
tigation of radical words. 
The chief things to be attended to are, what letters are 
commonly servile, either in nouns or verbs; in what part of 
the word they most generally appear; and what is the most 
R O O 359 
probable conjecture to be formed, in order to restore such 
radicals as are lost by the abbreviated flexions. 
The servile letters in nouns are such as form the feminine 
gender, and the plural terminations, the prefixes, including 
the signs of the cases, the heemantic ielters, and the possessive 
pronouns, or affixes. 
The servile letters in verbs are the personal prefixes and 
postfixes, formerly named the pronominal serviles, the 
characteristics of the different forms, and the verbal affixes. 
i and *, whether inserted in nouns or verbs, must be 
rejected in the investigation of the root. 
As the serviles generally appear in the greatest number at 
the end of words, the most proper method of discovering the 
root seems to be this:— 
Begin from the left hand, remove the serviles as you go 
along, retain the pure and the supposed radicals, reject the 
inserted 1 and ", restore or commute the radicals lost by 
abbreviations, and, finally, reject the prefixes. 
Directions for finding the Root, and for restoring the defi¬ 
cient Radicals:— 
I. If, after rejecting the serviles, three pure radicals remain, 
you may conclude these to be the root. 
II. If only two remain, as is the common case in abbre¬ 
viated roots, prefix to these either 3 or ", or insert i betwixt 
them, or postpone n, or double the second. 
The investigation of roots is not peculiar to the Hebrew, 
but common to all languages, and is of singular advantage, 
if we would attend to accuracy and propriety of writing. 
Tn such languages as do not admit of the distinction 
between radical and servile letters, the following may be 
observed as general rules for reducing words to their first 
principles. Let that part of the word which remains unvaried 
be considered as the radical term, and let the changes of 
termination be disregarded or cut off. Compound words 
must be resolved into their component parts, and the pre¬ 
positions excluded. In those words which seem reducible to 
Hebrew roots consisting entirely of consonants, the inter¬ 
mediate vowels employed for their enunciation, are not to 
be considered as essential, or as constituting a part of the 
root.—See Wilson’s Elements of Hebrew Grammar. Mas- 
clef Gram. Heb. vol.i. c. 21. p. 214, &c. Robertson’s 
Gram. Heb. Appendix, iii. 
The Greak and Hebrew tongues are learned by roots. Of 
dictionaries, some are in alphabetical order, others are dis¬ 
posed by roots, as Scapula, Faber’s Thesaurus, and the first 
edition of the Dictionary of the French Academy. 
ROOTS of Equations. See Algebra, 297—303. 
It will be requisite in this place, merely to add a table of the 
Square and Cube Roots of Numbers, 1 to 1200, which are 
of obvious and very general use. 
Table 
