Radical

Radical
Radical Rad"i*cal (r[a^]d"[i^]*kal), a. [F., fr. L. radicalis having roots, fr. radix, -icis, a root. See {Radix}.] 1. Of or pertaining to the root; proceeding directly from the root. [1913 Webster]

2. Hence: Of or pertaining to the root or origin; reaching to the center, to the foundation, to the ultimate sources, to the principles, or the like; original; fundamental; thorough-going; unsparing; extreme; as, radical evils; radical reform; a radical party. [1913 Webster]

The most determined exertions of that authority, against them, only showed their radical independence. --Burke. [1913 Webster]

3. (Bot.) (a) Belonging to, or proceeding from, the root of a plant; as, radical tubers or hairs. (b) Proceeding from a rootlike stem, or one which does not rise above the ground; as, the radical leaves of the dandelion and the sidesaddle flower. [1913 Webster]

4. (Philol.) Relating, or belonging, to the root, or ultimate source of derivation; as, a radical verbal form. [1913 Webster]

5. (Math.) Of or pertaining to a radix or root; as, a radical quantity; a radical sign. See below. [1913 Webster]

{Radical axis of two circles}. (Geom.) See under {Axis}.

{Radical pitch}, the pitch or tone with which the utterance of a syllable begins. --Rush.

{Radical quantity} (Alg.), a quantity to which the radical sign is prefixed; specifically, a quantity which is not a perfect power of the degree indicated by the radical sign; a surd.

{Radical sign} (Math.), the sign [root] (originally the letter r, the initial of radix, root), placed before any quantity, denoting that its root is to be extracted; thus, [root]a, or [root](a + b). To indicate any other than the square root, a corresponding figure is placed over the sign; thus, [cuberoot]a, indicates the third or cube root of a.

{Radical stress} (Elocution), force of utterance falling on the initial part of a syllable or sound.

{Radical vessels} (Anat.), minute vessels which originate in the substance of the tissues. [1913 Webster]

Syn: Primitive; original; natural; underived; fundamental; entire.

Usage: {Radical}, {Entire}. These words are frequently employed as interchangeable in describing some marked alteration in the condition of things. There is, however, an obvious difference between them. A radical cure, reform, etc., is one which goes to the root of the thing in question; and it is entire, in the sense that, by affecting the root, it affects in an appropriate degree the entire body nourished by the root; but it may not be entire in the sense of making a change complete in its nature, as well as in its extent. Hence, we speak of a radical change; a radical improvement; radical differences of opinion; while an entire change, an entire improvement, an entire difference of opinion, might indicate more than was actually intended. A certain change may be both radical and entire, in every sense. [1913 Webster]


The Collaborative International Dictionary of English. 2000.

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  • radical — radical, ale, aux [ radikal, o ] adj. et n. • fin XVe; bas lat. radicalis, de radix « racine » I ♦ Adj. 1 ♦ Qui tient à l essence, au principe (d une chose, d un être). ⇒ foncier, fondamental; absolu. « L instinct le plus radical dans l homme, le …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • radical — radical, ale (ra di kal, ka l ) adj. 1°   Terme de botanique. Qui appartient à la racine, qui part de la racine. Pédoncules radicaux.    Feuilles radicales, celles qui naissent si près de la racine, qu elles semblent en sortir et non de la tige.… …   Dictionnaire de la Langue Française d'Émile Littré

  • Radical — (from Latin radicis , genitive of radix root ) can refer to many different things and concepts.Mathematics*The symbol √ used to indicate the square root or nth root *Radical of an algebraic group, a concept in algebraic group theory *Radical of… …   Wikipedia

  • radical — RADICÁL, Ă, radicali, e, adj., s.m. I. adj. 1. De bază, fundamental, esenţial. ♦ (Adverbial) Din temelie, cu desăvârşire, complet. ♦ (Despre tratamente, leacuri) Care vindecă în întregime, complet. 2. Care preconizează reforme adânci, acţiuni… …   Dicționar Român

  • Radical — Saltar a navegación, búsqueda El término radical viene del latín radix ( raíz ), significa así de raíz o de base, refiriéndose sobre todo a un punto de vista profundo, sustancial, más aún si es aplicado a alguna convicción, práctica, análisis o… …   Wikipedia Español

  • Radical — Rad i*cal (r[a^]d [i^]*kal), n. 1. (Philol.) (a) A primitive word; a radix, root, or simple, underived, uncompounded word; an etymon. (b) A primitive letter; a letter that belongs to the radix. [1913 Webster] The words we at present make use of,… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • radical — adjetivo 1. De la raíz: El morfema radical de amar es am . 2. (antepuesto / pospuesto) Que se produce de manera total, sin ninguna limitación: cambio radical. Las radicales reformas emprendidas por el Ayuntamiento han levantado protestas. Se ha… …   Diccionario Salamanca de la Lengua Española

  • radical — [rad′i kəl] adj. [ME < LL radicalis < L radix (gen. radicis), ROOT1] 1. a) of or from the root or roots; going to the foundation or source of something; fundamental; basic [a radical principle] b) extreme; thorough [a radical change in one… …   English World dictionary

  • radical — (Del lat. radix, īcis, raíz). 1. adj. Perteneciente o relativo a la raíz. 2. Fundamental, de raíz. 3. Partidario de reformas extremas, especialmente en sentido democrático. U. t. c. s.) 4. Extremoso, tajante, intransigente. 5. Bot. Dicho de… …   Diccionario de la lengua española

  • Radical 2 — meaning vertical stroke is one of six of the 214 Kangxi radicals that are composed of only one stroke.In the Kangxi Dictionary there are only 21 characters (out of 40 000) to be found under this radical.Radical 1 (橫 héng) is one of the Eight… …   Wikipedia

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