What does $root:& mean in scss styles?

Question

css

.segments-list {
  $root: &;

  .page-buttons {
    > * { letter-spacing: .46px; }
  }
}

what does/mean $root: & ?

Answer 1

https://sass-lang.com/documentation/file.SASS_REFE...
https://sass-lang.com/documentation/file.SASS_REFE...
This is a reference to the parent selector in a variable