turnip

turnip
\ \ [16] Etymologically, a turnip may be a ‘turned neep’ – that is, a neep, or turnip, that has been ‘turned’ on a lathe, so as to be round (the turnip is a roughly spherical vegetable). Its second syllable, -nip, goes back ultimately to Latin nāpusturnip’, which was adopted by Old English as nǣp. It survives in Scottish English as neep, which is used for ‘swedes’ as well as ‘turnips’. The linking of the first syllable with turn is purely conjectural, and has never been definitely established.
\ \ Cf.NEEP

Word origins - 2ed. . 2005.

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  • Turnip — Tur nip, n. [OE. turnep; probably fr. turn, or F. tour a turn, turning lathe + OE. nepe a turnip, AS. n[=ae]pe, L. napus. Cf. {Turn},v. t., {Navew}.] (Bot.) The edible, fleshy, roundish, or somewhat conical, root of a cruciferous plant ({Brassica …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • turnip — 1530s, turnepe, probably from TURN (Cf. turn) (from its shape, as though turned on a lathe) + M.E. nepe turnip, from O.E. næp, from L. napus turnip. The modern form of the word emerged late 18c …   Etymology dictionary

  • turnip — [tʉr′nip] n. [earlier turnep, prob. < TURN or Fr tour, in the sense of “turned, round” + ME nepe < OE næp, turnip < L napus] 1. a) a biennial plant (Brassica rapa) of the crucifer family, with edible, hairy leaves and a roundish, light… …   English World dictionary

  • Turnip — (engl., spr. Törrnip, Turnips), die Runkel od. Futterrübe, s.u. Kohlrübe …   Pierer's Universal-Lexikon

  • Turnip — (Tör–), engl., die Runkelrübe …   Herders Conversations-Lexikon

  • turnip — ► NOUN ▪ a round root with white or cream flesh which is eaten as a vegetable. ORIGIN from a first element of unknown origin + NEEP(Cf. ↑N) …   English terms dictionary

  • Turnip — taxobox name = Turnip image caption = Small turnip root regnum = Plantae unranked divisio = Angiosperms unranked classis = Eudicots unranked ordo = Rosids ordo = Brassicales familia = Brassicaceae genus = Brassica species = B. rapa subspecies = B …   Wikipedia

  • turnip — turniplike, adj. /terr nip/, n. 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. 3. the root of this plant used as a… …   Universalium

  • turnip — (Roget s IV) n. Syn. domestic turnip, rutabaga, Swedish turnip, turnip cabbage, kohlrabi, Teltow turnip, wild turnip, Indian turnip; see also vegetable …   English dictionary for students

  • turnip — [16] Etymologically, a turnip may be a ‘turned neep’ – that is, a neep, or turnip, that has been ‘turned’ on a lathe, so as to be round (the turnip is a roughly spherical vegetable). Its second syllable, nip, goes back ultimately to Latin nāpus… …   The Hutchinson dictionary of word origins

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