root workn.
/ˈruːt wəːk/, U.S. /ˈrut ˌwərk/, /ˈrʊt ˌwərk/ 1. Horticulture. The mature roots of trees and plants used to create ornamental features in a garden. Cf. rockwork n. 1b, 2b. Now historical.
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1831 Gardener's Mag. Aug. 392 Such a labyrinth of terraces, curious architectural walls, trellis-work arbours,..ivied walls, rock-work, shell-work, root-work,..[etc.].
1841 J. W. Loudon Ladies' Compan. to Flower Garden 249/1 Rootwork.—The roots of trees,..may be combined together in various ways useful, ornamental, or curious, in gardening.
1866 Peterson's Mag. June 463/1 In town old wood is most dangerous: it gets covered with some kind of fibre, and kills and spoils everything it comes near... For towns, then, we must try rock-work—in the country, root-work.
1902 H. N. Ellacombe In my Vicarage Garden & Elsewhere x. 89 Avoid all root-work; it looks rather well at first, but it soon becomes a harbour for vermin of all kinds.
1961 B. Howe Lady with Green Fingers viii. 153 Rock-work and root-work, survivals of Regency and late 18th-century garden modes.
2004 D. Mack & T. Stender Rustic Garden Furnit. & Accessories (2007) 9/1 Some of the early English rustic style was called ‘root work’ and was related to the Chinese style of using the gnarled, earthy roots as the central motif in rustic structures and furniture.
2. Dentistry. Treatment of the root of a tooth, esp. of the root canal.
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the world > health and disease > healing > dentistry > [noun] > other dental procedures
remineralization1828
reattachment1846
articulation1849
aurification1881
root work1903
apicectomy1914
spatulation1939
fluoridation1951
fluoridization1951
splintage1956
splinting1960
replant1969
1903 Dental Cosmos 675 In root-work the operator should always bear in mind the preservation of the pericementum.
1923 St. L. A. Estes Raw Food & Health (1927) 139 If you have root work to be done consult..[a] health dentist.
1990 Guardian 3 Mar. 14/3 Bear in mind that if you want..a crown put on a tooth you will probably need root work as well.
2006 Western Morning News (Plymouth) (Nexis) 13 Apr. 13 A dentist..has to decide to either work in the patient's interest and take time to do root work or dig out the molar.
3. U.S. regional (chiefly southern). Chiefly in African-American use: a spell cast using a preparation of plant roots; (more usually) the practice of casting spells using roots. Cf. root n.1 1c, root worker n.
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the world > the supernatural > the occult > sorcery, witchcraft, or magic > enchantment or casting spells > [noun] > using plants
root work1939
1939 in H. M. Hyatt Hoodoo (1970) II. 1181 An' while yo' are doin' dis kinda work, dese candles are a..cover [for] other root-works an' things.
1967 D. C. Tinling in Psychosomatic Med. 29 483 (heading) Voodoo, root work, and medicine.
2005 Afr. Amer. Rev. 39 156/1 African-derived traditions and values, such as orally conveyed folklore, quilting, and herb and rootwork.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, November 2010; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.1831