Question: is a turnip and a parsnip the same thing

Answer: No, While folk etymology sometimes assumes the name is a mix of parsley and turnip, it actually comes from Middle English pasnepe, alteration (influenced by nep, turnip) of Old French pasnaie (now panais) from Latin pastinum, a kind of fork. The word's ending was changed to -nip by analogy with turnip because it was mistakenly assumed to be a kind of turnip.