parsnip Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun the whitish root of cultivated parsnip
  2. noun a strong-scented plant cultivated for its edible root
    Pastinaca sativa.
  3. noun whitish edible root; eaten cooked

WordNet

Pars"nip noun
Etymology
OE. parsnepe, from a French form, fr. L. pastinaca; cf. pastinare to dig up, pastinum a kind of dibble; cf. OF. pastenade, pastenaque.
Definitions
  1. (Bot.) The aromatic and edible spindle-shaped root of the cultivated form of the Pastinaca sativa, a biennial umbelliferous plant which is very poisonous in its wild state; also, the plant itself.

Webster 1913