| Kenneth G. Wilson (1923–). The Columbia Guide to Standard American English. 1993. |
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| root, rout, route (nn., vv.) |
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| Some of the variant pronunciations of these three are homophones. Root, noun and verb, is pronounced either ROOT or RUT. The noun root is “the lower part of a plant or tree, the part in the ground,” and it has many figurative senses as well, most of them suggesting “the beginnings or basic or fundamental parts of something.” The verb root means “to dig up, as with the snout”: Pigs root around for acorns. They work hard at it, as does anyone who roots for a thing, and this in turn leads to the Conversational and Informal verb sense, “to cheer for a team,” as in We rooted for our side, but to no avail. | 1 |
| The noun rout is always pronounced ROUT and means “a mob or rabble” and by extension “a total defeat,” “a disorderly retreat.” The verb rout, pronounced ROUT, is a variant of the verb root and means “to dig or rummage for.” It has combined forms that are idiomatic: to rout out, meaning “to force out (of bed or the house),” as in They routed me out before breakfast, and to rout up, meaning “to turn up, to find,” as in They routed up enough people for a second table of bridge. | 2 |
| The noun route is pronounced either ROOT or ROUT (the latter especially for paper routes and roads) and means “a road or course to follow,” as in They mapped out a new route for me. The verb, also pronounced either ROOT or ROUT, means “to schedule a trip or path for someone or something to follow,” as in They routed the packages through Chicago to save time. All these uses are Standard, but some people object to the ROUT pronunciation of route, noun and verb, especially at the Oratorical level. | 3 |
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| | | The Columbia Guide to Standard American English. Copyright © 1993 Columbia University Press. |
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