Rootled

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. Searched around in a messy or untidy way, digging through things to find something
2. Rummaged through a pile or container by pushing and sorting the contents with the hands
3. Dug about among a jumble of objects in search of something hidden or lost

Etymology: "Rootled" is the past tense of "rootle," which means to dig about among a jumble of things in search of something hidden or lost. The verb is built from "root," in its old sense of digging or rooting about, plus the suffix "-le," which marks repeated or continued action. So "rootle" is essentially "root" made frequentative: where "root" describes a single poke or dig, "rootle" describes the back-and-forth burrowing of someone sorting through a messy pile. The suffix has a long pedigree. It descends from a Proto-Germanic ending that passed through Old English and Middle English before settling into the modern form, the same machinery that gives English pairs like "sparkle" from "spark" and "twinkle" from "twink." That pattern is why "rootle" sounds like a close cousin of "rummage" and "rustle," verbs of busy, repeated handling.

Synonyms: rummage, rifle, forage, scrabble, root