Word origins - 2ed. J. Ayto. 2005.
Parsnip — Pars nip (p[aum]rs n[i^]p), n. [OE. parsnepe, from a French form, fr. L. pastinaca; cf. pastinare to dig up, pastinum a kind of dibble; cf. OF. pastenade, pastenaque.] (Bot.) The aromatic and edible spindle shaped root of the cultivated form of… … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
parsnip — (n.) 16c., parsnepe, corruption (by influence of Middle English nepe turnip ) of M.E. passenep (late 14c.), from O.Fr. pasnaie, from L. pastinaca parsnip, carrot, from pastinum two pronged fork (related to pastinare to dig up the ground ) so… … Etymology dictionary
parsnip — ► NOUN ▪ the long tapering cream coloured root of a plant of the parsley family, eaten as a vegetable. ORIGIN Old French pasnaie, from Latin pastinaca; the change in ending was influenced by NEEP(Cf. ↑N) … English terms dictionary
parsnip — [pärs′nip΄] n. [ME pasnepe, altered (infl. by nepe, turnip) < OFr pasnaie < L pastinaca < pastinare, to dig up < pastinum, two forked dibble] 1. a biennial plant (Pastinaca sativa) of the umbel family, with yellow flowers and a long,… … English World dictionary
Parsnip — Taxobox name = Parsnip image width = 250px image caption = A selection of parsnips regnum = Plantae divisio = Magnoliophyta classis = Magnoliopsida ordo = Apiales familia = Apiaceae genus = Pastinaca species = P. sativa binomial = Pastinaca… … Wikipedia
parsnip — /pahr snip/, n. 1. a plant, Pastinaca sativa, cultivated varieties of which have a large, whitish, edible root. 2. the root of this plant. [1350 1400; earlier pars(e)nep, pass(e)nep, ME pas(t)nep(e) < L past(inaca) parsnip ( … Universalium
parsnip — UK [ˈpɑː(r)snɪp] / US [ˈpɑrsnɪp] noun [countable/uncountable] Word forms parsnip : singular parsnip plural parsnips a long white hard vegetable that grows under the ground … English dictionary
parsnip — noun a) A biennial plant, Pastinaca sativa, related to the carrot. b) The root of the parsnip, when used as a vegetable … Wiktionary
parsnip — pars|nip [ parsnıp ] noun count or uncount a long white hard vegetable that grows under the ground … Usage of the words and phrases in modern English
parsnip — [14] The Romans called the ‘parsnip’ (and the ‘carrot’) pastināca. This was a derivative of pastinum, a term for a sort of small two pronged fork, inspired no doubt by the forked appearance of some examples of the vegetable. In Old French the… … The Hutchinson dictionary of word origins
parsnip — [[t]pɑ͟ː(r)snɪp[/t]] parsnips N COUNT A parsnip is a long cream coloured root vegetable … English dictionary
