kernel vs root

kernel

noun
  • The human clitoris. 

  • The nucleus and electrons of an atom excluding its valence electrons. 

  • For a category with zero morphisms: the equalizer of a given morphism and the zero morphism which is parallel to that given morphism. 

  • A set of pairs of a mapping's domain which are mapped to the same value. 

  • A single seed or grain, especially of corn or wheat. 

  • A small mass around which other matter is concreted; a nucleus; a concretion or hard lump in the flesh. 

  • The set of members of a fuzzy set that are fully included (i.e., whose grade of membership is 1). 

  • The core, center, or essence of an object or system. 

  • The central part of many computer operating systems which manages the system's resources and the communication between hardware and software components. 

  • The stone of certain fruits, such as peaches or plums. 

  • A function used to define an integral transform. 

  • The core engine of any complex software system. 

  • The central (usually edible) part of a nut, especially once the hard shell has been removed. 

  • For a given function (especially a linear map between vector spaces), the set of elements in the domain which are mapped to zero; (formally) given f : X → Y, the set {x ∈ X : f(x) = 0}. 

verb
  • To enclose within a kernel 

  • To crenellate 

root

noun
  • An act of sexual intercourse. 

  • The single node of a tree that has no parent. 

  • A sexual partner. 

  • The highest directory of a directory structure which may contain both files and subdirectories. 

  • A square root (understood if no power is specified; in which case, "the root of" is often abbreviated to "root"). 

  • A zero (of an equation). 

  • The primary source; origin. 

  • The primary lexical unit of a word, which carries the most significant aspects of semantic content and cannot be reduced into smaller constituents. Inflectional stems often derive from roots. 

  • Of a number or expression, a number which, when raised to a specified power, yields the specified number or expression. 

  • A root vegetable. 

  • The part of a hair near the skin that has not been dyed, permed, or otherwise treated. 

  • The lowest place, position, or part. 

  • The part of a tooth extending into the bone holding the tooth in place. 

  • The bottom of the thread of a threaded object. 

  • A word from which another word or words are derived. 

  • The part of a plant, generally underground, that anchors and supports the plant body, absorbs and stores water and nutrients, and in some plants is able to perform vegetative reproduction. 

  • The fundamental tone of any chord; the tone from whose harmonics, or overtones, a chord is composed. 

  • The section of a wing immediately adjacent to the fuselage. 

  • The part of a hair under the skin that holds the hair in place. 

  • In UNIX terminology, the first user account with complete access to the operating system and its configuration, found at the root of the directory structure; the person who manages accounts on a UNIX system. 

  • A penis, especially the base of a penis. 

verb
  • To be firmly fixed; to be established. 

  • To prepare, oversee, or otherwise cause the rooting of cuttings. 

  • To grow roots; to enter the earth, as roots; to take root and begin to grow. 

  • To sexually penetrate. 

  • To get root or privileged access on a computer system or mobile phone, often through bypassing some security mechanism. 

  • To seek favour or advancement by low arts or grovelling servility; to fawn. 

  • To turn up or dig with the snout. 

  • Of a baby: to turn the head and open the mouth in search of food. 

  • To rummage; to search as if by digging in soil. 

  • To root out; to abolish. 

  • To cheer (on); to show support (for) and hope for the success of. (See root for.) 

How often have the words kernel and root occurred in a corpus of books? (source: Google Ngram Viewer )