turnip
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˈtɜː.nɪp/
ipa: /ˈtɝ.nɪp/
Forms: form: turnips
Etymology: From Middle English turnepe, probably from turn + Middle English nepe, from Old English nǣp, from Latin nāpus. The component turn may be due to the round shape of the plant as though turned on a lathe, or because it must be turned and twisted to be harvested. Cognate to neep. See also parsnip.
Senses: examples: text: The ancient Roman gastronomists considered the turnip, when prepared in the following manner, a dish fit for epicures: "After boiling, extract the water from them, and season with cummin, rue, or benzoin, pounded in a mortar; afterward add honey, vinegar, gravy, and boiled grapes. Allow the whole to simmer, and serve."
ref: 1892, Ella Eaton Kellogg, “Vegetables”, in Science in the Kitchen: A Scientific Treatise on Food Substances and Their Dietetic Properties, Together with a Practical Explanation of the Principles of Healthful Cookery, and a Large Number of Original, Palatable, and Wholesome Recipes, Revised edition, Michigan: Health Publishing Company, page 240:
text: In general, beets, carrots, and turnips are all of aphrodisiac value in erotic dietary.
ref: 1961, Harry E. Wedeck, Dictionary of Aphrodisiacs, New York: The Citadel Press, page 42:
text: The turnip is one of the lordliest vegetables in the world; its broth is practically a soup in itself.
ref: 1969, Robert Farrar Capon, “Living Water”, in The Supper of the Lamb: A Culinary Reflection:
glosses: The white root of a yellow-flowered plant, Brassica rapa, grown as a vegetable and as fodder for cattle.
glosses: The yellow root of a related plant, the swede or Brassica napus.
glosses: The white root of Raphanus sativus var. longipinnatus, also known as a daikon.
glosses: The root of the yam bean, Pachyrhizus erosus; jicama.
glosses: A large, heavy pocket watch, so called because its profile resembled the vegetable.
examples: text: "Dost thou not believe, thou twittering turnip?"
ref: 1971, Richard Carpenter, Catweazle and the Magic Zodiac, Harmondsworth: Puffin Books, page 33:
text: You absolute turnip, you.
Hannah replaced the clipboard in her lap and pretended to write Very Serious notes. Thank God it was dark in the rear of the studio. No one could see the tomato-colored tidal wave surging up her neck.
ref: 2022, Tessa Bailey, Hook, Line, and Sinker:
glosses: A fool or simpleton.
Synonyms: sense: Brassica rapa
word: summer turnip
sense: Brassica rapa
word: white turnip
sense: Brassica napus
word: rutabaga
sense: Brassica napus
word: swede
sense: Brassica napus
word: tumshie
sense: Raphanus sativus var. longipinnatus
word: daikon
Derived terms: word: blood from a turnip
word: fall off the turnip truck
word: German turnip
word: get blood from a turnip
word: get blood out of a turnip
word: Indian turnip
word: prairie turnip
word: squeeze blood from a turnip
word: squeeze blood out of a turnip
taxonomic: Brassica napus
word: Swedish turnip
word: turnip-cabbage
word: turnip cake
taxonomic: Phyllotreta undulata
word: turnip flea beetle
taxonomic: Delia radicum
word: turnip fly
word: turnip for the book
word: turnip for the books
word: turnip head
word: turnip-headed
word: turnip moth
word: turnip-rooted parsley
word: turnip sawfly
word: turnip shell
word: turnip tops
word: turnip watch
word: turnipy
word: Turnip yellow mosaic virus
Related terms: neep
rutabaga
swede
turnip greens