Legal Definitions - root

ROOT

In civil law, a root refers to a descendant.

1. John is the root of the Smith family.

2. The root of the legal dispute was the inheritance of the family business.

The term "root" is used in civil law to refer to a person's descendants, such as children, grandchildren, and so on. In the first example, John is the oldest living member of the Smith family and is therefore considered the root of the family. In the second example, the legal dispute was caused by a disagreement among the descendants of the family business's original owner, who are all considered roots of the business.