Uproot

Part of speech: verb

Pronunciation: /ˌʌpˈɹuːt/

Definitions

1. To pull or dig something completely out of the ground, or to force a person or group to leave their home and established way of life
2. To forcefully extract something from its foundation or displace people from their native environment
3. To pull something entirely from the soil or compel individuals to abandon their homeland and settled existence

Etymology: "Uproot" is a compound of "up-" and "root", and the verb is formed in English by attaching the directional prefix to the noun. The noun "root" comes from Old English "rōt", borrowed from Old Norse "rót" and ultimately from a Proto-Germanic form, so the physical image of a plant's underground part sits at the heart of the word. The verb had two English sources that happened to converge. One strand took "root" as a verb meaning to tear a plant up by its roots, and the other drew on an older verb "root", from Old English "wrōtan", which meant a pig digging or turning up soil with its snout. Both senses point to the same action: pulling something out of the ground. The figurative sense, forcing people from their homes and way of life, grew naturally from that literal digging. Uprooting a plant removes it from where it grows, and the same image was applied to communities and individuals who are driven from the place that sustains them.

Synonyms: remove, eradicate, extract, displace, obliterate

Antonyms: plant, establish, root, insert, settle