In most contexts, radical means extreme. Saying it is related to the Latin root &quot;radix&quot; (root) is an etymological fallacy: Words mean what they&#x27;re currently understood to mean, not what their roots mean.<p><a href="http:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.fallacyfiles.org&#x2F;etymolog.html" rel="nofollow">http:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.fallacyfiles.org&#x2F;etymolog.html</a>