Root

A nickname for a cheerful person, from Middle English rote "glad, cheerful".

From Dutch root, a derivative of roten "to ret", a topographic name for someone who lived by a retting place, a place where flax is soaked in tubs of water until the stems rot to release the linen fibers.

From Middle English and Old French rote, an early medieval stringed instrument similar to a guitar that was played by turning wheels like a hurdy-gurdy.