Pronunciation Lesson

Root, rut, rout, and route are four separate words:


Root, pronounced root, or in some dialects root, with the vowel of hoof,

the part of a plant taking a firm grip in the dirt

or metaphorically, a cause or origin.


Rut, pronounced like so, a groove carved in the mud by wheels,

then hardened by the sun,

or the breeding season of certain animals,

or the cretinous routine of a slave to habit.


Route, pronounced root or rout--never with sound of roof--

not the physical road itself, with its ruts,

but the schematic plan of a journey.


Rout, finally, echoing the second way of saying route,

a decisive victory in game or battle,

or sometimes a search for something hidden

along the route, among ruts and roots.