# Is there a verb form for 'square root?' **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 16, 2007, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-verb-form-for-square-root/426733 "2007-11-16T18:37:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2007, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-verb-form-for-square-root/426733/1 "2007-11-16T18:37:31Z")
If you want to take the square of a number, you “square” it. Easy enough. If you want to take the square root of a number, you could say you’re going to ‘square root’ it, and most people would understand shoehorning the noun into a verb, but I was wondering if there were anything in math jargon that supplied an easy verb. I didn’t find anything in my M-W under “root” or “radic-” that seemed to apply. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2007, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-verb-form-for-square-root/426733/2 "2007-11-16T18:41:57Z")
I’m not aware of a short, snappy form. It’s “raising (number) to the 1/2 power”. Some people call it “radical (number)”, but that’s not a verb form. ---
**Author:** ![pinkfreud](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pinkfreud/32/17603_2.png) [@pinkfreud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pinkfreud)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2007, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-verb-form-for-square-root/426733/3 "2007-11-16T18:48:03Z")
Whenever I see [SQRT](http://www.aips.nrao.edu/cgi-bin/ZXHLP2.PL?SQRT) in print, in my mind I pronounce it as ‘squirt.’ I don’t know whether it’s ever used as a verb in speech, though. ---
**Author:** ![Giles](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giles/32/60_2.png) [@Giles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giles)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2007, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-verb-form-for-square-root/426733/4 "2007-11-16T18:58:48Z")
You can say “take the square root of”. ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2007, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-verb-form-for-square-root/426733/5 "2007-11-16T19:09:16Z")
“root around” ---
**Author:** ![ultrafilter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/3d9bf3/32.png) [@ultrafilter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ultrafilter)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2007, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-verb-form-for-square-root/426733/6 "2007-11-16T19:52:30Z")
I think that I’ve seen an older source refer to the process of taking a square root as evolution, but I don’t know how common that ever was, or if it referred to anything else as well. Regardless, you’ll probably just confuse people if you refer to evolving a number to get its square root. ---
**Author:** ![spingears](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ebca7d/32.png) [@spingears](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/spingears)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2007, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-verb-form-for-square-root/426733/7 "2007-11-16T20:11:00Z")
[QUOTE] Is there a verb form for ‘square root?’[/UNQUOTE] No! [Square Root of 2](http://www.mathsisfun.com/numbers/evolution-of-numbers.html) ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2007, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-verb-form-for-square-root/426733/8 "2007-11-16T20:20:29Z")
[QUOTE=pinkfreud] Whenever I see [SQRT](http://www.aips.nrao.edu/cgi-bin/ZXHLP2.PL?SQRT) in print, in my mind I pronounce it as ‘squirt.’ I don’t know whether it’s ever used as a verb in speech, though. [/QUOTE] Sure, just not for math. I think the closest you’re going to get is “Take the square root.” ---
**Author:** ![Santo\_Rugger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e95f7d/32.png) [@Santo\_Rugger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Santo_Rugger)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2007, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-verb-form-for-square-root/426733/9 "2007-11-16T20:37:39Z")
When I was doing homework in college, and we were using lots of square roots, we’d just say “root it”. I always thought it was funny because “root” is slang for copulate. None of my classmates got it. It’s kind of like, if you use Google to look something up, you “Google it”. ---
**Author:** ![Kid\_A\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ed8c4c/32.png) [@Kid\_A\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kid_A_1)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2007, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-verb-form-for-square-root/426733/10 "2007-11-16T20:42:05Z")
Same sort of thing as **Santo Rugger**. We’d always just say “take the root”. ---
**Author:** ![cmyk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmyk/32/3353_2.png) [@cmyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmyk)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2007, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-verb-form-for-square-root/426733/11 "2007-11-16T20:55:03Z")
May as well take the opportunity to create a new verb right now. People of the world, I give you: Scroot. Scroot [skroot] (verb) To take the square root of. Okay, that’s done. What’s next? ---
**Author:** ![Dervorin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/eb8c5e/32.png) [@Dervorin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dervorin)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2007, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-verb-form-for-square-root/426733/12 "2007-11-16T21:11:54Z")
I must confess I just say “root it”. Not terribly good grammar, but everyone I know understands it, and what is language if it doesn’t evolve a little? ---
**Author:** ![spingears](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ebca7d/32.png) [@spingears](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/spingears)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2007, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-verb-form-for-square-root/426733/13 "2007-11-20T14:22:47Z")
[QUOTE=Dervorin] I just say “root it”. Not terribly good grammar… [/QUOTE] “root it” is not specific as to which root, i.e. square, cube, fourth, etc. See Post #7. [Square Root of 2](http://www.mathsisfun.com/numbers/evolution-of-numbers.html) , Cube root of X, 4th root of Y, etc. Math has to be precise. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2007, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-verb-form-for-square-root/426733/14 "2007-11-20T14:43:39Z")
I support the suggestion of “Squirt” as in SQRT, and I hope it will catch on. Math is always more fun with things squirting! ---
**Author:** ![Santo\_Rugger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e95f7d/32.png) [@Santo\_Rugger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Santo_Rugger)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2007, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-verb-form-for-square-root/426733/15 "2007-11-20T15:07:38Z")
[QUOTE=spingears] “root it” is not specific as to which root, i.e. square, cube, fourth, etc. See Post #7. [Square Root of 2](http://www.mathsisfun.com/numbers/evolution-of-numbers.html) , Cube root of X, 4th root of Y, etc. Math has to be precise. [/QUOTE] Right. But, if you’re working with, say, Mohr’s circle, or Pythagoreans’ theorem, or any situation where you’re only going to be doing the square root, and not venturing into nth roots, “root it” will suffice. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2007, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-verb-form-for-square-root/426733/16 "2007-11-20T15:44:48Z")
If all other root operations are explicitly named, and ‘root’ alone is understood to mean only one kind of operation (_square_ root) - that’s more than adequately precise. ---
**Author:** ![psychonaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/psychonaut/32/4655_2.png) [@psychonaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychonaut)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2007, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-verb-form-for-square-root/426733/17 "2007-11-20T15:47:27Z")
I doubt there’s a verb in English, but other languages possibly have one. Anyone here speak another language where “to take the square root of” is a single word? ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2007, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-verb-form-for-square-root/426733/18 "2007-11-20T15:49:05Z")
If there is such an animal, my money is on it being German or Japanese - in the former, they just glue separate words together to make new ones - in the latter, they import phrases as words. ---
**Author:** ![aldiboronti](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9fc348/32.png) [@aldiboronti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aldiboronti)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2007, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-verb-form-for-square-root/426733/19 "2007-11-20T19:04:46Z")
How about _unsquare_? Square two to make four. Unsquare four to make two. It’s an assumption, if you like, that a number has been squared already and you need the reverse operation. _Uncube_ works too. ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2007, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-verb-form-for-square-root/426733/20 "2007-11-20T19:14:13Z")
I just say, “square-root”. As in, “Next, square-root the result, and add three.” [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-verb-form-for-square-root/426733.md?page=2)