Radical \Rad"i*cal\ (r[a^]d"[i^]*kal), a. [F., fr. L. radicalis
having roots, fr. radix, -icis, a root. See Radix.]
1. Of or pertaining to the root; proceeding directly from the
root.
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2. Hence: Of or pertaining to the root or origin; reaching to
the center, to the foundation, to the ultimate sources, to
the principles, or the like; original; fundamental;
thorough-going; unsparing; extreme; as, radical evils;
radical reform; a radical party.
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The most determined exertions of that authority,
against them, only showed their radical
independence. --Burke.
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3. (Bot.)
(a) Belonging to, or proceeding from, the root of a plant;
as, radical tubers or hairs.
(b) Proceeding from a rootlike stem, or one which does not
rise above the ground; as, the radical leaves of the
dandelion and the sidesaddle flower.
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4. (Philol.) Relating, or belonging, to the root, or ultimate
source of derivation; as, a radical verbal form.
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5. (Math.) Of or pertaining to a radix or root; as, a radical
quantity; a radical sign. See below.
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Radical axis of two circles. (Geom.) See under Axis.
Radical pitch, the pitch or tone with which the utterance
of a syllable begins. --Rush.
Radical quantity (Alg.), a quantity to which the radical
sign is prefixed; specifically, a quantity which is not a
perfect power of the degree indicated by the radical sign;
a surd.
Radical sign (Math.), the sign [root] (originally the
letter r, the initial of radix, root), placed before any
quantity, denoting that its root is to be extracted; thus,
[root]a, or [root](a + b). To indicate any other than the
square root, a corresponding figure is placed over the
sign; thus, [cuberoot]a, indicates the third or cube root
of a.
Radical stress (Elocution), force of utterance falling on
the initial part of a syllable or sound.
Radical vessels (Anat.), minute vessels which originate in
the substance of the tissues.
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Syn: Primitive; original; natural; underived; fundamental;
entire.
Usage: Radical, Entire. These words are frequently
employed as interchangeable in describing some marked
alteration in the condition of things. There is,
however, an obvious difference between them. A radical
cure, reform, etc., is one which goes to the root of
the thing in question; and it is entire, in the sense
that, by affecting the root, it affects in an
appropriate degree the entire body nourished by the
root; but it may not be entire in the sense of making
a change complete in its nature, as well as in its
extent. Hence, we speak of a radical change; a radical
improvement; radical differences of opinion; while an
entire change, an entire improvement, an entire
difference of opinion, might indicate more than was
actually intended. A certain change may be both
radical and entire, in every sense.
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Axis \Ax"is\, n.; pl. Axes. [L. axis axis, axle. See Axle.]
A straight line, real or imaginary, passing through a body,
on which it revolves, or may be supposed to revolve; a line
passing through a body or system around which the parts are
symmetrically arranged.
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2. (Math.) A straight line with respect to which the
different parts of a magnitude are symmetrically arranged;
as, the axis of a cylinder, i. e., the axis of a cone,
that is, the straight line joining the vertex and the
center of the base; the axis of a circle, any straight
line passing through the center.
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3. (Bot.) The stem; the central part, or longitudinal
support, on which organs or parts are arranged; the
central line of any body. --Gray.
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4. (Anat.)
(a) The second vertebra of the neck, or vertebra
dentata.
(b) Also used of the body only of the vertebra, which is
prolonged anteriorly within the foramen of the first
vertebra or atlas, so as to form the odontoid process
or peg which serves as a pivot for the atlas and head
to turn upon.
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5. (Crystallog.) One of several imaginary lines, assumed in
describing the position of the planes by which a crystal
is bounded.
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6. (Fine Arts) The primary or secondary central line of any
design.
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Anticlinal axis (Geol.), a line or ridge from which the
strata slope downward on the two opposite sides.
Synclinal axis, a line from which the strata slope upward
in opposite directions, so as to form a valley.
Axis cylinder (Anat.), the neuraxis or essential, central
substance of a nerve fiber; -- called also axis band,
axial fiber, and cylinder axis.
Axis in peritrochio, the wheel and axle, one of the
mechanical powers.
Axis of a curve (Geom.), a straight line which bisects a
system of parallel chords of a curve; called a principal
axis, when cutting them at right angles, in which case it
divides the curve into two symmetrical portions, as in the
parabola, which has one such axis, the ellipse, which has
two, or the circle, which has an infinite number. The two
axes of the ellipse are the major axis and the minor
axis, and the two axes of the hyperbola are the
transverse axis and the conjugate axis.
Axis of a lens, the straight line passing through its
center and perpendicular to its surfaces.
Axis of a microscope or Axis of a telescope, the straight
line with which coincide the axes of the several lenses
which compose it.
Axes of co["o]rdinates in a plane, two straight lines
intersecting each other, to which points are referred for
the purpose of determining their relative position: they
are either rectangular or oblique.
Axes of co["o]rdinates in space, the three straight lines
in which the co["o]rdinate planes intersect each other.
Axis of a balance, that line about which it turns.
Axis of oscillation, of a pendulum, a right line passing
through the center about which it vibrates, and
perpendicular to the plane of vibration.
Axis of polarization, the central line around which the
prismatic rings or curves are arranged. --Brewster.
Axis of revolution (Descriptive Geom.), a straight line
about which some line or plane is revolved, so that the
several points of the line or plane shall describe circles
with their centers in the fixed line, and their planes
perpendicular to it, the line describing a surface of
revolution, and the plane a solid of revolution.
Axis of symmetry (Geom.), any line in a plane figure which
divides the figure into two such parts that one part, when
folded over along the axis, shall coincide with the other
part.
Axis of the equator, ecliptic, horizon (or other circle
considered with reference to the sphere on which it lies),
the diameter of the sphere which is perpendicular to the
plane of the circle. --Hutton.
Axis of the Ionic capital (Arch.), a line passing
perpendicularly through the middle of the eye of the
volute.
Neutral axis (Mech.), the line of demarcation between the
horizontal elastic forces of tension and compression,
exerted by the fibers in any cross section of a girder.
Optic axis of a crystal, the direction in which a ray of
transmitted light suffers no double refraction. All
crystals, not of the isometric system, are either uniaxial
or biaxial.
Optic axis, Visual axis (Opt.), the straight line passing
through the center of the pupil, and perpendicular to the
surface of the eye.
Radical axis of two circles (Geom.), the straight line
perpendicular to the line joining their centers and such
that the tangents from any point of it to the two circles
shall be equal to each other.
Spiral axis (Arch.), the axis of a twisted column drawn
spirally in order to trace the circumvolutions without.
Axis of abscissas and Axis of ordinates. See Abscissa.
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