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radical

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary

English

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Etymology

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PIE word
*wréh₂ds

Inherited from Middle English radical, from Latin rādīcālis (“of or pertaining to the root, having roots, radical”). Compare grassroots.

Pronunciation

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Adjective

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radical (comparative more radical, superlative most radical)

  1. (botany, not comparable) Of or pertaining to the root of a plant.
  2. (lexicography, not comparable) Of or pertaining to the root of a word.
  3. (phonology, phonetics, not comparable, of a sound) Produced using the root of the tongue.
    Coordinate terms: coronal, dorsal, labial, laryngeal
  4. (mathematics) Relating to a radix or mathematical root.
    a radical quantity; a radical sign
  5. Pertaining to the basic or intrinsic nature of something.
    Synonym: fundamental
    Antonyms: ignorable, trivial
  6. Favoring fundamental change, or change at the root cause of a matter.
    His beliefs are radical.
  7. Thoroughgoing; far-reaching.
    The spread of the cancer required radical surgery, and the entire organ was removed.
    • 2012 January, Donald Worster, “A Drier and Hotter Future”, in American Scientist‎[1], volume 100, number 1, archived from the original on 26 January 2012, page 70:
      Phoenix and Lubbock are both caught in severe drought, and it is going to get much worse. We may see many such [dust] storms in the decades ahead, along with species extinctions, radical disturbance of ecosystems, and intensified social conflict over land and water. Welcome to the Anthropocene, the epoch when humans have become a major geological and climatic force.
  8. (chemistry, not comparable) Involving free radicals.
  9. (slang) Excellent; awesome.
    Synonym: rad
    That was a radical jump!

Synonyms

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Antonyms

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Derived terms

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Translations

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Noun

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radical (plural radicals)

  1. (arithmetic) A root (of a number or quantity).
  3. (linguistics) In logographic writing systems such as the Chinese writing system, the portion of a character used to index it. Often, but not always, this is also the portion indicating meaning; compare the following sense.
    1. (linguistics) In logographic writing systems such as the Chinese writing system, the portion of a character (if any) that provides an indication of its meaning, as opposed to being wholly phonetic.
      Synonym: semantophore
    2. (proscribed, common) Any component of a logographic character, whether used for indexing or not, whether semantic or not.
      Synonym: component
      • 2022, R. F. Kuang, Babel, HarperVoyager, page 9:
        The boy recognised the Chinese characters, though the calligraphy looked a bit strange, as if drawn by someone who had seen them and copied them out radical by radical without knowing what they meant.
  5. (linguistics) In Celtic languages, the basic, underlying form of an initial consonant which can be further mutated under the Celtic initial consonant mutations.
  6. (linguistics) In Semitic languages, any one of the set of consonants (typically three) that make up a root.
  7. (chemistry) A group of atoms, joined by covalent bonds, that take part in reactions as a single unit.
  8. (organic chemistry) A free radical.
  9. (algebra, commutative algebra, ring theory, of an ideal) Given an ideal I in a commutative ring R, another ideal, denoted Rad(I) or I, such that an element x ∈ R is in Rad(I) if, for some positive integer n, xn ∈ I; equivalently, the intersection of all prime ideals containing I.
  10. (algebra, ring theory, of a ring) Given a ring R, an ideal containing elements of R that share a property considered, in some sense, "not good".
  11. (algebra, ring theory, of a module) The intersection of maximal submodules of a given module.
  12. (number theory) The product of the distinct prime factors of a given positive integer.
  13. (historical, 19th-century Britain, politics) A member of the most progressive wing of the Liberal Party; someone favouring social reform (but generally stopping short of socialism).
  14. (historical, early 20th-century France) A member of an influential, centrist political party favouring moderate social reform, a republican constitution, and secular politics.
  15. A person with radical opinions.

Derived terms

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Translations

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The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
Translations to be checked

References

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Further reading

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Anagrams

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Catalan

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Pronunciation

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Adjective

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radical m or f (masculine and feminine plural radicals)

  1. radical

Derived terms

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Noun

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radical m or f by sense (plural radicals)

  1. radical

Further reading

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French

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Etymology

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    Learned borrowing from Late Latin rādīcālis.

    Pronunciation

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    Adjective

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    radical (feminine radicale, masculine plural radicaux, feminine plural radicales)

    1. radical
      L'idéologie islamiste radicale de Boko Haram a provoqué le déplacement de plus de deux millions de personnes dans le nord du Nigeria.
      The radical Islamist ideology of Boko Haram caused more than two million persons to be displaced in northern Nigeria.

    Derived terms

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    Noun

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    radical m (plural radicaux)

    1. (linguistics, grammar) radical, root
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    Further reading

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    Galician

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    Pronunciation

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    • IPA(key): /radiˈkal/ [ra.ð̞iˈkɑɫ]
    • Rhymes: -al
    • Hyphenation: ra‧di‧cal

    Noun

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    radical m (plural radicais)

    1. radical (in various senses)

    Derived terms

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    Further reading

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    Portuguese

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    Pronunciation

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    • Rhymes: (Portugal) -al, (Brazil) -aw
    • Hyphenation: ra‧di‧cal

    Noun

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    radical m (plural radicais)

    1. (linguistic morphology) stem (main part of a word)
    2. (linguistics) radicial (portion of a character)

    Noun

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    radical m or f by sense (plural radicais)

    1. radical (person holding unorthodox views)
      Synonym: extremista

    Adjective

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    radical m or f (plural radicais)

    1. radical (favouring fundamental change)
    2. drastic; extreme
    3. (slang) excellent; awesome; thrilling
    4. (sports) extreme (dangerous)

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    Further reading

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    Romanian

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    Alternative forms

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    Etymology

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    Borrowed from French radical or German Radikal.

    Pronunciation

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    • IPA(key): /ra.diˈkal/
    • Rhymes: -al
    • Hyphenation: ra‧di‧cal

    Adjective

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    radical m or n (feminine singular radicală, masculine plural radicali, feminine/neuter plural radicale)

    1. radical

    Declension

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    Declension of radical
    singular plural
    masculine neuter feminine masculine neuter feminine
    nominative-
    accusative     		indefinite radical radicală radicali radicale
    definite radicalul radicala radicalii radicalele
    genitive-
    dative     		indefinite radical radicale radicali radicale
    definite radicalului radicalei radicalilor radicalelor
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    Spanish

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    Etymology

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    Etymology tree
    Proto-Indo-European *wréh₂ds
    Proto-Italic *wrādīks
    Latin rādīx
    Proto-Indo-European *h₂el-
    Proto-Indo-European *-is
    Proto-Indo-European *h₂élisder.?
    Proto-Italic *-ālis
    Latin -ālis
    Latin rādīcālisbor.
    Spanish radical

      Borrowed from Latin rādīcālis.

      Pronunciation

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      • IPA(key): /radiˈkal/ [ra.ð̞iˈkal]
      • Rhymes: -al
      • Syllabification: ra‧di‧cal

      Adjective

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      radical m or f (masculine and feminine plural radicales)

      1. radical, seismic

      Derived terms

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      Noun

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      radical m (plural radicales)

      1. radical

      Derived terms

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      Further reading

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