turnip

[tur-nip]

See more synonyms for turnip on Thesaurus.com

noun

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

Origin of turnip

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

Related formstur·nip·like, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for turnip

alarm, timer, beet, potato, bulb, root, taro, yam, turnip, timepiece, tattler, watch, chronometer, chronograph, timekeeper, metronome, pendulum, sundial, stopwatch, ticker

Examples from the Web for turnip

Contemporary Examples of turnip

On dessert menu at one new hotel, a “Mondae”—frozen lard covered in borsch with a turnip on top.
Up to a Point: PJ O’Rourke on Sochi and Senate Slackers
P. J. O’Rourke
February 7, 2014
Down there in the turnip greene and the tears, hope remained alive.
Michelle vs. the All-American Jackass
Stanley Crouch
March 25, 2009

Historical Examples of turnip

The meat is fried, with only the exception of when accompanied by "turnip greens."
Scientific American Supplement, No. 433, April 19, 1884
Various
If you wish to have them very mild, put in a turnip with them at the first boiling.
Directions for Cookery, in its Various Branches
Eliza Leslie
To express the cubic content of a turnip, you must be all round it at once.
Alarms and Discursions
G. K. Chesterton
The only way to get all round a turnip at once is to eat the turnip.
Alarms and Discursions
G. K. Chesterton
To call a man a turnip may be playful, but is seldom respectful.
Alarms and Discursions
G. K. Chesterton

British Dictionary definitions for turnip

turnip

noun

a widely cultivated plant, Brassica rapa, of the Mediterranean region, with a large yellow or white edible root: family Brassicaceae (crucifers)
the root of this plant, which is eaten as a vegetable
any of several similar or related plants
another name for kohlrabi

Also called (for senses 1, 2): navew

Word Origin for turnip

C16: from earlier turnepe, perhaps from turn (indicating its rounded shape) + nepe, from Latin nāpus turnip; see neep

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

Word Origin and History for turnip

1530s, turnepe, probably from turn (from its shape, as though turned on a lathe) + Middle English nepe "turnip," from Old English næp, from Latin napus "turnip." The modern form of the word emerged late 18c.