It recently came to my attention that the root of the word “radical” is, um, “root.” More precisely, it’s “radix,” which means “root” in Latin.
I find it intriguing, as I generally think of radical as being something completely new and different – which, of course, it is – but it is also (again: of course) linked to something incredibly fundamental.
Radical change is that from the roots up.
Radical differences are deep-rooted differences.
So maybe when it’s about a radical departure from tradition, we could think about it as pulling something up by the roots.
