msqrt

msqrt is a MathML presentation element used to display the square root of its content within a math expression. It renders a radical symbol with the radicand placed under the horizontal bar. The element has a single required child, which represents the radicand, and it does not specify a root index.

In a MathML document, msqrt is placed inside the outer math element. Example in plain text: <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"><msqrt><mi>a</mi></msqrt></math> which renders as the square root of a. More complex radicands can be included by nesting other MathML elements inside msqrt, such as <msqrt><mrow><mi>a</mi><mo>+</mo><mi>b</mi></mrow></msqrt> for √(a + b).

msqrt is distinct from mroot, another MathML element used for roots with an explicit index. While msqrt represents the standard square root, mroot allows specifying the degree of the root (for example, cube roots) by providing a separate index as its second child.

Usage and compatibility: MathML rendering varies by browser. Firefox provides strong native MathML support, while Chrome and other browsers may rely on JavaScript libraries such as MathJax or KaTeX to render MathML content consistently. When targeting a broad audience, authors often rely on these libraries to ensure reliable display across platforms.

Notes: msqrt is primarily a presentational markup. For semantic or computable meaning, Content MathML or other semantic representations may be used alongside or instead of presentation markup to encode the square-root operation.