Radical

Rad´i`cal Pronunciation: răd´ĭ`kal

Of or pertaining to the root; proceeding directly from the root.

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.

(Bot.) Belonging to, or proceeding from, the root of a plant; as, radical tubers or hairs.

(Philol.) Relating, or belonging, to the root, or ultimate source of derivation; as, a radical verbal form.

(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.

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. - Rush.

Radical sign
(Math.) the sign ? (originally the letter r, the initial of radix, root), placed before any quantity, denoting that its root is to be extracted; thus, ?a, or ?(a + b). To indicate any other than the square root, a corresponding figure is placed over the sign; thus, 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.

(Philol.) A primitive word; a radix, root, or simple, underived, uncompounded word; an etymon.

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.

(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 the phrase of their own time, "Root-and-Branch men," or, to use the kindred phrase of our own, Radicals.

- Macaulay.

(Chem.) 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.

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.

(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.

(Anat.) A radical vessel. See under Radical, a.

Noun	1.	radical - (chemistry) two or more atoms bound together as a single unit and forming part of a molecule Synonyms: chemical group, group
	2.	radical - an atom or group of atoms with at least one unpaired electron; in the body it is usually an oxygen molecule than has lost an electron and will stabilize itself by stealing an electron from a nearby molecule; "in the body free radicals are high-energy particles that ricochet wildly and damage cells" Synonyms: free radical
	3.	radical - a person who has radical ideas or opinions
	4.	radical - a character conveying the lexical meaning of a logogram
	5.	radical - a sign placed in front of an expression to denote that a root is to be extracted Synonyms: radical sign
	6.	radical - (linguistics) the form of a word after all affixes are removed; "thematic vowels are part of the stem" Synonyms: root word, stem, root, theme, base
Adj.	1.	radical - (used of opinions and actions) far beyond the norm; "extremist political views"; "radical opinions on education"; "an ultra conservative" Synonyms: extremist, ultra
	2.	radical - markedly new or introducing radical change; "a revolutionary discovery"; "radical political views" Synonyms: revolutionary
	3.	radical - arising from or going to the root; "a radical flaw in the plan"
	4.	radical - of or relating to or constituting a linguistic root; "a radical verb form"
	5.	radical - 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" Synonyms: basal Antonyms: cauline - especially of leaves; growing on a stem especially on the upper part of a stem; "cauline leaves"

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