noun · 3 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
Sound
Pronunciation
Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.
General-American:/ˈɹaɪzoʊm/
Southern-England:Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
CMU ARPABET:R AY1 Z OW2 M
Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
1
noun
Meaning 1
A horizontal, underground stem of some plants that sends out roots and shoots (scions) from its nodes.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Topics: biology, botany, natural-sciences
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: race, rootstalk
Antonyms: none provided
2
noun
Meaning 2
A so-called “image of thought” that apprehends multiplicities.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Qualifier: critical theory
Topics: human-sciences, philosophy, sciences
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
3
noun
Meaning 3
a horizontal plant stem with shoots above and roots below serving as a reproductive structure
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: rootstock, rootstalk
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: stalk, stem
History
Etymology
Borrowed from Ancient Greek ῥίζωμα (rhízōma). As philosophical metaphor, used by Gilles Deleuze and Félix Guattari.
Across languages
Translations
51 source translations are retained for this English entry.
Azerbaijani:
kökümsov
— horizontal underground stem of some plants
Breton:
dangorz
— horizontal underground stem of some plants
Bulgarian:
коренище
(korenište)
— horizontal underground stem of some plants
Catalan:
rizoma
— horizontal underground stem of some plants
Chinese Mandarin:
根莖 /根茎
(gēnjīng)
— horizontal underground stem of some plants
Czech:
oddenek
— horizontal underground stem of some plants
Dutch:
wortelstok
— horizontal underground stem of some plants
Dutch:
rizoom
— horizontal underground stem of some plants
Esperanto:
rizomo
— horizontal underground stem of some plants
Finnish:
maavarsi
— horizontal underground stem of some plants
Finnish:
vaakajuurakko
— horizontal underground stem of some plants
French:
rhizome
— horizontal underground stem of some plants
Georgian:
ფესურა
(pesura)
— horizontal underground stem of some plants
German:
Rhizom
— horizontal underground stem of some plants
German:
Wurzelstock
— horizontal underground stem of some plants
Greek:
ρίζωμα
(rízoma)
— horizontal underground stem of some plants
Hawaiian:
ʻauaʻa
— horizontal underground stem of some plants
Hungarian:
rizóma
— horizontal underground stem of some plants
Ido:
rizomo
— horizontal underground stem of some plants
Indonesian:
rimpang
— horizontal underground stem of some plants
Italian:
rizoma
— horizontal underground stem of some plants
Japanese:
根茎
(konkei)
— horizontal underground stem of some plants
Kazakh:
түп
(tüp)
— horizontal underground stem of some plants
Khmer:
មើម
(məəm)
— horizontal underground stem of some plants
Korean:
땅속줄기
(ttangsokjulgi)
— horizontal underground stem of some plants
Malay:
rizom
— horizontal underground stem of some plants
Māori:
akakōare
— horizontal underground stem of some plants
Māori:
akakōareare
— horizontal underground stem of some plants
Norwegian:
jordstengel
— horizontal underground stem of some plants
Norwegian:
rhizom
— horizontal underground stem of some plants
Norwegian:
rotstokk
— horizontal underground stem of some plants
Persian:
ریزوم
(rizom)
— horizontal underground stem of some plants
Polish:
kłącze
— horizontal underground stem of some plants
Portuguese:
rizoma
— horizontal underground stem of some plants
Russian:
корневи́ще
(kornevíšče)
— horizontal underground stem of some plants
Spanish:
rizoma
— horizontal underground stem of some plants
Swedish:
jordstam
— horizontal underground stem of some plants
Swedish:
rhizom
— horizontal underground stem of some plants
Swedish:
rotstock
— horizontal underground stem of some plants
Tagalog:
ayuyang
— horizontal underground stem of some plants
Tibetan:
རམ་རྩ་
(ram rtsa)
— horizontal underground stem of some plants
Tibetan:
རྩི་ཤིང་གི་ལྦ་རྩ་
(rtsi shing gi lba rtsa)
— horizontal underground stem of some plants
Ukrainian:
кореневище
(korenevyšče)
— horizontal underground stem of some plants
Welsh:
gwreiddgyff
— horizontal underground stem of some plants
Welsh:
rhisom
— horizontal underground stem of some plants
Chinese Mandarin:
根莖 /根茎
(gēnjīng)
— image of thought
