The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 6 letter word ORIGIN
I've seen this crossword clue in The Times
O
R
I
G
I
N
More clues leading to the result ORIGIN
- Root and Cook batting after introduction of off-spinner
- Old doctor content to leave Indian root
- Duck doctor in spring
- Written on reverse of cheque, popular foundation
- Beginning to rig inquiry partially
- Alternatively, a drink fountain
- Source found by old doctor at home
- Source of old Rhode Island mother’s ruin
- Foundation taking payment back in
- Source of old outfit at home
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "root" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case root = origin.The cryptic/wordplay part
In cryptic crossword there's often an wordplay/cryptic part as well.This part involves a more complex hint, such as an anagram, homophone, hidden word, etc.
Sadly, We don't have an explanation for this specific crossword clue yet.
What does ORIGIN mean?
ORIGIN noun- The beginning of something.
- The source of a river, information, goods, etc.
- The point at which the axes of a coordinate system intersect.
- The proximal end of attachment of a muscle to a bone that will not be moved by the action of that muscle.
- An arbitrary point on Earth's surface, chosen as the zero for a system of coordinates.
- (in the plural) Ancestry.