Definition

1. Noun:
   • The base or bottom part of a plant, especially a tree: The part of a tree or plant that is in the ground or from which it grows.
   • Origin, source, or foundation: The point from which something begins, arises, or is derived; the fundamental basis or cause of something.
   • Principal sum (in finance): The original amount of money invested or loaned, before interest or profit.
   • Radical (in chemistry): A group of atoms that behaves as a single unit in chemical reactions and forms part of a molecule.
   • A single plant or tree (as a counting unit): Used to count individual plants or trees.
   • Zero point (in mathematics): A chosen reference point on an axis, representing zero, from which other values are measured.

Usage Examples

• Noun:
  • Anh ấy ngồi nghỉ dưới gốc cây cổ thụ. (He sat resting under the foot of the ancient tree.)
  • Cô ấy muốn tìm hiểu về gốc gác của gia đình mình. (She wants to learn about the origins of her family.)
  • Ngân hàng đã thu hồi được cả gốc lẫn lãi. (The bank recovered both the principal and the interest.)
  • Gốc tự do có thể gây hại cho tế bào. (Free radicals can harm cells.)
  • Vườn ươm này có hàng nghìn gốc mai. (This nursery has thousands of apricot blossom plants.)
  • Hãy đặt gốc tọa độ tại điểm này. (Set the coordinate origin at this point.)

Advanced Usage

• "gốc gác": lineage, ancestry, roots.
  • Anh ta không biết gốc gác của mình là ở đâu. (He doesn't know where his roots are.)
• "gốc rễ": root, fundamental cause.
  • Chúng ta cần giải quyết vấn đề từ gốc rễ. (We need to solve the problem from the root.)
• "nợ gốc": principal debt.
  • Khoản nợ gốc vẫn còn nguyên. (The principal debt remains intact.)

Variants and Related Words

• Gốc gác (n): Origin, ancestry.
• Cội nguồn (n): Source, origin (often for rivers or traditions).
• Căn nguyên (n): Root cause, origin (often of a problem or disease).
• Nguồn gốc (n): Origin, source.
• Gốc rễ (n): Root, fundamental basis.

Synonyms

• Nguồn (n): Source.
• Cơ sở (n): Basis, foundation.
• Cội (n): Trunk, base (of a tree); origin.
• Nguyên bản (n): Original version.

Related Phrases (Collocations)

• Gốc cây: Foot/base of a tree.
• Tiền gốc: Principal money.
• Từ gốc: Root word (in linguistics).
• Quê gốc: Native place, ancestral homeland.
• Gốc tích: Background, history, origins.

Related Idioms

• "Biết cây biết gốc, biết người biết tổ": (To know the tree is to know its roots, to know a person is to know their ancestry.) - Emphasizes understanding origins.
• "Cây có gốc, nước có nguồn": (A tree has its roots, water has its source.) - Similar to "every river has its source," reminding one to remember their origins.
• "Bắt đầu từ gốc": (To start from the root.) - Meaning to address the fundamental issue.

noun

1. foot; origin
   • gốc cây
     foot of a tree