turnip Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun widely cultivated plant having a large fleshy edible white or yellow root
    white turnip; Brassica rapa.
  2. noun root of any of several members of the mustard family

WordNet

Tur"nip noun
Etymology
OE. turnep; probably fr. turn, or F. tour a turn, turning lathe + OE. nepe a turnip, AS. n&aemac;pe, L. napus. Cf. Turn,v. t., Navew.
Definitions
  1. (Bot.) The edible, fleshy, roundish, or somewhat conical, root of a cruciferous plant (Brassica campestris, var. Napus); also, the plant itself. Formerly written also turnep.

Webster 1913