rootholdn.
/ˈruːthəʊld/, U.S. /ˈrutˌ(h)oʊld/, /ˈrʊtˌ(h)oʊld/ Attachment by means of roots; a place where roots can take hold. Also figurative.
ΘΚΠ
the world > plants > part of plant > root > plant defined by roots > [noun] > taking root
rootinga1425
radication1658
roothold1795
1795 Trans. Soc. Encouragem. Arts, Manuf., & Commerce 13 204 The corn..admits the regular grasses to get so good root-hold as to prevent any further intrusion.
1797 A. Kilham Methodist Monitor I. 66 Everything that we enjoy that is substantially good and great..has been uniformly obliged to consolidate its root-hold by painful struggles and persevering toil.
1864 H. Spencer Illustr. Progress 372 It would become possible for plants of higher organization to find roothold.
1880 I. L. Bird Unbeaten Tracks Japan I. 123 Even maples had found roothold in their gigantic stems.
1908 E. Holmes Creed of Buddha ix. 267 Belief in its own reality is the very root of the soul's life; and to..attempt to prove its reality is to undermine and otherwise weaken its roothold.
1937 S. F. Armstrong Brit. Grasses (ed. 3) xiii. 261 The consolidation and aeration of the surface soil leading to..a better root-hold for plants, and more effective action from fertilisers.
1996 R. Mabey Flora Britannica 314/1 They are very heavy..and can't easily get a roothold amongst more aggressive species.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, November 2010; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.1795