What Is the Meaning of Root Pop?

Soda pop made from roots has been popular for decades.

"The English language is rather like a monster accordion, stretchable at the whim of the editor, compressible ad lib," notes lexicographer Robert Burchfield. The meaning of "root pop" can be stretched in three ways.

Beverage

"Root pop" is an archaic term that refers to beverages originally made from the roots of plants. Sassafras is a root used to make the carbonated drink root beer.

Root Word

The English language root word "pop-" comes from the Latin "populi," meaning "people." From this root come the words "population" and "popular."

Sound

"Root pop" may refer to the sudden explosive sound of the root of a tree being snapped in two. This phenomenon is especially likely to happen to the fragile roots of the Giant Sequoia, whose tender white feeder roots will pop off at the merest touch.

References

• "The Southwestern Reporter, Vol 34"; West Publishing Company; 1896
• English for Students: Pop
• Giant-Sequoia.com: Giant Sequoia Landscape Questions
• "The Speaker's Book of Quotations, Updated and Revised"; Henry O. Dormann; 2009

Resources

• "Homemade Root Beer, Soda and Pop"; Stephen Cresswell; 1998
• Michigan State University: Common Prefixes, Suffixes, and Root Words