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radicalmore about radical

radical


  3  definitions  found 
 
  From  Webster's  Revised  Unabridged  Dictionary  (1913)  [web1913]: 
 
  Radical  \Rad"i*cal\,  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. 
 
  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. 
 
  The  most  determined  exertions  of  that  authority, 
  against  them  only  showed  their  radical 
  independence.  --Burke. 
 
  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. 
 
  4.  (Philol.)  Relating,  or  belonging,  to  the  root,  or  ultimate 
  source  of  derivation;  as  a  radical  verbal  form 
 
  5.  (Math.)  Of  or  pertaining  to  a  radix  or  root;  as  a  radical 
  quantity;  a  radical  sign.  See  below. 
 
  {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. 
 
  Syn:  Primitive;  original;  natural;  underived;  fundamental; 
  entire. 
 
  Usage:  {Radical},  {Entire}.  These  words  are  frequently 
  employed  as  interchangeable  in  describing  some  marked 
  alternation  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  a 
  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 
 
  From  Webster's  Revised  Unabridged  Dictionary  (1913)  [web1913]: 
 
  Radical  \Rad"i*cal\,  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. 
 
  The  words  we  at  present  make  use  of  and 
  understand  only  by  common  agreement,  assume  a 
  new  air  and  life  in  the  understanding,  when  you 
  trace  them  to  their  radicals,  where  you  find 
  every  word  strongly  stamped  with  nature;  full  of 
  energy,  meaning,  character,  painting,  and 
  poetry.  --Cleland. 
 
  2.  (Politics)  One  who  advocates  radical  changes  in  government 
  or  social  institutions,  especially  such  changes  as  are 
  intended  to  level  class  inequalities;  --  opposed  to 
  conservative. 
 
  In  politics  they  [the  Independents]  were  to  use 
  phrase  of  their  own  time.  ``Root-and-Branch  men,'' 
  or  to  use  the  kindred  phrase  of  our  own  Radicals. 
  --Macaulay. 
 
  3.  (Chem.) 
  a  A  characteristic,  essential,  and  fundamental 
  constituent  of  any  compound;  hence  sometimes  an 
  atom. 
 
  As  a  general  rule  the  metallic  atoms  are  basic 
  radicals,  while  the  nonmetallic  atoms  are  acid 
  radicals.  --J.  P.  Cooke. 
  b  Specifically,  a  group  of  two  or  more  atoms,  not 
  completely  saturated,  which  are  so  linked  that  their 
  union  implies  certain  properties,  and  are  conveniently 
  regarded  as  playing  the  part  of  a  single  atom;  a 
  residue;  --  called  also  a  {compound  radical}.  Cf 
  {Residue}. 
 
  4.  (Alg.)  A  radical  quantity.  See  under  {Radical},  a. 
 
  An  indicated  root  of  a  perfect  power  of  the  degree 
  indicated  is  not  a  radical  but  a  rational  quantity 
  under  a  radical  form  --Davies  & 
  Peck  (Math. 
  Dict.) 
 
  5.  (Anat.)  A  radical  vessel.  See  under  {Radical},  a. 
 
  From  WordNet  r  1.6  [wn]: 
 
  radical 
  adj  1:  (used  of  opinions  and  actions)  far  beyond  the  norm; 
  "extremist  political  views";  "radical  opinions  on 
  education";  "an  ultra  conservative"  [syn:  {extremist}, 
  {ultra}] 
  2:  markedly  new  or  introducing  radical  change;  "a  revolutionary 
  discovery";  "radical  political  views"  [syn:  {revolutionary}] 
  3:  arising  from  or  going  to  the  root;  "a  radical  flaw  in  the 
  plan"  [syn:  {root}] 
  4:  (linguistics)  of  or  relating  to  or  constituting  a  linguistic 
  root;  "a  radical  verb  form" 
  5:  (botany)  especially  of  leaves;  located  at  the  base  of  a 
  plant  or  stem;  especially  arising  directly  from  the  root 
  or  rootstock  or  a  root-like  stem;  "basal  placentation"; 
  "radical  leaves"  [syn:  {basal}]  [ant:  {cauline}] 
  n  1:  two  or  more  atoms  bound  together  as  a  single  unit  and 
  forming  part  of  a  molecule  [syn:  {group}] 
  2:  an  atom  or  group  of  atoms  with  at  least  one  unpaired 
  electron;  "in  the  body  free  radicals  are  high-energy 
  particles  that  ricochet  wildly  and  damage  cells"  [syn:  {free 
  radical}] 
  3:  a  person  who  has  radical  ideas  or  opinions 
  4:  a  character  conveying  the  lexical  meaning  of  a  logogram 
  5:  a  sign  placed  in  front  of  an  expression  to  denote  that  a 
  root  is  to  be  extracted  [syn:  {radical  sign}] 
  6:  (linguistics)  the  form  of  a  word  after  all  affixes  are 
  removed;  "thematic  vowels  are  part  of  the  stem"  [syn:  {root}, 
  {root  word},  {base},  {stem},  {theme}] 




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