radix (English)

Where does "radix" come from?

The English noun 'radix' is a learned borrowing from Latin 'rādīx', meaning 'a root'[1]. The Latin term descends from Proto-Italic '*wrādīks', which itself traces back to the Proto-Indo-European root '*wréh₂ds'[1][2][3]. This etymological lineage also makes 'radix' a doublet of the word 'radish'[1].

Open questions

• The Proto-Italic and Proto-Indo-European forms are reconstructed linguistically rather than directly attested. [2] [3]

Full etymology tree

• radix (English), 'A root.'
  • learned borrowing radix (Latin), 'root'
    • inherited *wrādīks (Proto-Italic), 'root'
      • inherited *wréh₂ds (Proto-Indo-European), 'root'

Ancestors

• radix (Latin)

Cognates and doublets

• radish (English)

Descendants and derived words

• diminished radix complement (English)
• radically (English)
• radicand (English)
• radiciflorous (English)
• radix complement (English)
• radix point (English)
• radix sort (English)
• radix tree (English)

Sources

1. radix (English) - Wiktionary
2. radix (Latin) - Wiktionary
3. wrādīks (Proto-Italic) - Wiktionary

Updated October 2026

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Etymology data from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · About Miraris