Ask HN: Why is the top node of a tree structure called root node instead of tip? - soygul
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quickthrower2
Intuitively I think it is because "root" means "origin" (e.g. tell me about
your roots i.e. your family, or the root of all evil etc.), and the top node
is where you start when navigating the tree (it would be the memory reference
you have first because it is stored in a variable, and you need to traverse to
get to other nodes).

Using a physical tree analogy I'd call it a trunk rather than a root (and
ignore that a real tree has roots entirely because they are a tree in their
own right!)

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soygul
> Using a physical tree analogy I'd call it a trunk rather than a root

I will start calling it "tip" instead and see how people react!

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lioeters
It's because the tree is upside-down, growing from the top (root) to the
branches and leaves (the tips) below.

