turnip

[ tur-nip ]
See synonyms for turnip on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. the thick, fleshy, edible root of either of two plants of the mustard family, the white-fleshed Brassica rapa rapifera or the yellow-fleshed rutabaga.

  2. the plant itself.

  1. the root of this plant used as a vegetable.

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Origin of turnip

1
1525–35; earlier turnep(e), equivalent to turn (with reference to its neatly rounded shape) + nepeneep

Other words from turnip

  • tur·nip·like, adjective

Words Nearby turnip

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use turnip in a sentence

  • When he ascended the throne, his friend presented him a turnip of extraordinary size.

  • In roots and tubers the variations are less, and all, except the potato and the turnip, contain about seven per cent of ash.

  • Perhaps I had better tell you once and for all that I refuse to go into the turnip and vegetable narrow business.

    First Plays | A. A. Milne
  • Cato pronounced the cabbage the finest vegetable known, and the turnip figures in the well-known anecdote of Manius Curius .

    The Private Life of the Romans | Harold Whetstone Johnston
  • Cut out some balls of turnip in the same manner, and boil for fifteen minutes.

    Dressed Game and Poultry la Mode | Harriet A. de Salis

British Dictionary definitions for turnip

turnip

/ (ˈtɜːnɪp) /


noun
  1. a widely cultivated plant, Brassica rapa, of the Mediterranean region, with a large yellow or white edible root: family Brassicaceae (crucifers)

  2. the root of this plant, which is eaten as a vegetable

  1. any of several similar or related plants

  2. another name for kohlrabi

Origin of turnip

1
C16: from earlier turnepe, perhaps from turn (indicating its rounded shape) + nepe, from Latin nāpus turnip; see neep
  • Also called (for senses 1, 2): navew

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012