turnip

A2 Topic:Food & Drink

US /ˈtɜːrnɪp/ UK /ˈtɜːnɪp/ See IPA manual

Meanings

1

noun
a round root vegetable with white flesh and purple, red, or greenish skin, eaten as a vegetable

She added diced turnip to the stew for extra flavor.
2

noun
a plant of the cabbage family grown for its edible root and leaves

Farmers harvested turnip crops in the autumn.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · a round root vegetable with... rutabagaswederoot tuber

2 noun · a plant of the cabbage... brassicaroot croptuber bulb

Appears in

Phrases (1)

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swedish turnip
the yellow edible root vegetable also called a swede or rutabaga

Adjective + noun

Proverbs (1)

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You can't get blood out of a turnip

Simplified etymology

Turnip is recorded in its present form from the mid-16th century. Its second element is associated with neep, an old word for “turnip” derived from Latin napus, but the origin of turn- is unknown.

Etymology

From Middle English turnepe, apparently a compound whose second element is Old English nǣp 'turnip' (from Latin napus); the root vegetable of the cabbage family.

Topics

Food & Drink

External links

# turnip

**Type:** Word
**Level:** A2
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /ˈtɜːrnɪp/
**IPA (UK):** /ˈtɜːnɪp/

## Meanings
1. a round root vegetable with white flesh and purple, red, or greenish skin, eaten as a vegetable
2. a plant of the cabbage family grown for its edible root and leaves

## Examples
- She added diced turnip to the stew for extra flavor.
- Farmers harvested turnip crops in the autumn.

## Synonyms
- rutabaga
- swede
- root
- tuber
- brassica
- root crop
- bulb

## Etymology
From Middle English turnepe, apparently a compound whose second element is Old English nǣp 'turnip' (from Latin napus); the root vegetable of the cabbage family.

## AI Etymology
Turnip comes from Middle English turnepe, apparently a compound whose second element is Old English nǣp 'turnip' (from Latin napus); the root vegetable of the cabbage family. In current use it is a noun meaning "a round root vegetable with white flesh and purple, red, or greenish skin, eaten as a vegetable". That sense is explained by the older material without requiring a speculative semantic step: the inherited or borrowed base supplies the field of meaning, while the English formation fixes its modern role. The surface form is compositional: its joined elements remain visible in the modern word. The word's history is thus visible in its construction: the components remain interpretable even after the whole expression has settled into a conventional English meaning.

## Topics
- Food & Drink

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