Root (linguistics)

The root in language is either a base word, or a part of a word to which affixes are added. Or, it is the part left after affixes have been taken away. Technically, it is the smallest unit which carries meaning: it cannot be reduced into smaller units. It is the same as a free-standing morpheme.
If a root is a whole word, then it is called a "base word". It is the word which stands at the head of a dictionary definition, is the base of a word family.
Examples: in each case in bold