Radical

Radical is derived from the Latin word radix, which means "pertaining to the root(s)". In various fields of endeavor, it can mean:\n* in sociology:\n** one who advocates thoroughgoing analysis or change "at the root"\n* in politics:\n** (an extremist) a supporter of a revolutionary social movement\n** a counterpart to a conservative; see Radical Republican\n** member of a Radical Party\n** can refer to the Radicals, a group of left-wing MPs in the 19th-century British Parliament\n* in chemistry, either an atom or molecule with at least one unpaired electron, or a group of atoms, charged or uncharged, that act as a single entity in reaction. These two definitions are not functionally identical. (see radical (chemistry)).\n* in mathematics:\n** the n-th radical or root of a number a, written as , which is a number whose n-th power is a (see radical (mathematics)).\n** the Radical of an ideal is an important concept in abstract algebra.\n* in linguistics, a part of a Chinese character (see radical (Chinese character)).