radish n.

Proto-Indo-European root meaning "branch, root."

It forms all or part of: deracinate; eradicate; eradication; irradicable; licorice; radical; radicant; radicle; radicular; radish; ramada; ramify; ramus; rhizoid; rhizome; rhizophagous; root; rutabaga; wort.

It is the hypothetical source of/evidence for its existence is provided by: Greek rhiza, Lesbian brisda "root," Greek hradamnos "branch;" Latin radix) "root, radish;" Gothic waurts, Old English wyrt; Welsh gwraidd, Old Irish fren "root."

also horse-radish, 1590s, Cochlearia armoricia; the common name preserves the once-common figurative adjectival sense of horse as "strong, large, coarse," as in in obsolete horse mushroom (1866), horse-balm (1808), horse parsley, horse-mussel, Old English horsminte "horse mint." The "London Encyclopaedia" (1829) has horse emmet for a large kind of ant and horse marten "a kind of large bee." Also see radish.

Some nations have used the word bull as an augmentative; the English use the word horse, this being no doubt the largest animal of their acquaintance before the southern breeds of oxen were introduced. [The Annual Review, London, 1804]