turnip
UK/ˈtɜːnɪp/
More pronunciations (1)Fewer pronunciations
British/ˈtəːnɪp/
turnip noun: the white root of a yellow-flowered plant, Brassica rapa, grown as a vegetable and as fodder for cattle. Also the clipping of turnip watch.
Noun
turnip (plural turnips)
- The white root of a yellow-flowered plant, Brassica rapa, grown as a vegetable and as fodder for cattle.
- 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...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...
- In general, beets, carrots, and turnips are all of aphrodisiac value in erotic dietary.1961, Harry E. Wedeck, Dictionary of Aphrodisiacs, New York: The Citadel Press, page 42
- Synonyms:
- summer turnip, white turnip
- The yellow root of a related plant, the swede or Brassica napus.
- The white root of Raphanus sativus var. longipinnatus, also known as a daikon.
- Synonyms:
- daikon
- The root of the yam bean, Pachyrhizus erosus; jicama.
- A fool or simpleton.
- "Dost thou not believe, thou twittering turnip?"1971, Richard Carpenter, Catweazle and the Magic Zodiac, Harmondsworth: Puffin Books, page 33
- 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.2022, Tessa Bailey, Hook, Line, and Sinker
Verb
turnip (third-person singular simple present turnips, present participle turniping or turnipping, simple past and past participle turniped or turnipped)
- To plant with turnips.
- This identical field has been turniped before, and to good account, in a favourable winter.1803, Agricultural Magazine, volume 9, page 32
- To feed or graze (livestock) on turnips.
- The Leicesters and half-breds are purchased by farmers who keep no breeding stock: they are well turniped during the winter, and clipped and fattened in the following season.1869, Sheep: Their Breeds, Management, and Diseases, page 328
- This system of turniping is found to encourage the growth and muscular development of young stock.1898, John Wrightson, Sheep: Breeds and Management, page 86
Also used as
turnip is also the clipping of turnip watch.
turnip meaning in Hindi, Urdu, Bengali and Punjabi
turnip in Hindi
- white root of Brassica rapa
- शलजम śaljam, शलगम śalgam
turnip in Urdu
- white root of Brassica rapa
- شلجم śaljam, شلغم śalġam
turnip in Bengali
- white root of Brassica rapa
- শালগম śalogom
turnip in Punjabi
- white root of Brassica rapa
- ਗੋਂਗਲੂ goṅglū, ਸ਼ਲਗਮ śalgam
More languagesFewer languages
- turnip in Sinhala
- එළවලු වර්ගයක් eḷawalu wargayak, ටර්නිප් ṭarnip
- turnip in Tagalog
- pulang singkamas, puting singkamas
- turnip in Arabic
- لِفْت lift
- turnip in Persian
- شلغم šalġam
- turnip in Thai
- หัวผักกาด hŭa pàk gàat
- turnip in Vietnamese
- củ cải, cây củ cải
- turnip in Myanmar
- မုန်လာဉဝါ munla-nya.wa
- Kashmiri
- گۄگٕج gọgụj
Examples of turnip in a sentence
- Pork chops boiled with turnip greens make a mighty fine meal.
- Look sharp, and try not to seem like you just fell off the turnip truck.
- A sharp drop in demand forced the farmer to plow under half his turnips.
Synonyms of turnip
Forms of turnip
| Noun | |
|---|---|
| plural | turnips |
| alternative form (obsolete) | turnep |
| Verb | |
| third-person singular present | turnips |
| present participle | turniping |
| present participle | turnipping |
| past participle | turniped |
| past | turniped |
| past participle | turnipped |
| past | turnipped |
Origin of turnip
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.
Words formed from turnip
- blood from a turnip
- fall off the turnip truck
- German turnip
- get blood from a turnip
- get blood out of a turnip
- Indian turnip
- prairie turnip
- squeeze blood from a turnip
- squeeze blood out of a turnip
- St. Anthony's turnip
- Swedish turnip
- turncurtovirus
- turnip-cabbage
- turnip cake
- turnip flea beetle
- turnip fly
- turnip for the book
- turnip for the books
- turnip head
- turnip-headed
- turnipless
- turniplike
- turnip moth
- turnippy
- turnip-rooted parsley
- turnip sawfly
- turnip shell
- turnip tops
- turnip watch
- turnipweed
- turnipwood
- turnipy
- Turnip yellow mosaic virus
Phrases with turnip
Questions about turnip
- What does turnip mean?
- Turnip means the white root of a yellow-flowered plant, Brassica rapa, grown as a vegetable and as fodder for cattle.
- What is turnip in Hindi?
- Turnip in Hindi is शलजम (śaljam), शलगम (śalgam). See Turnip meaning in Hindi.
- What part of speech is turnip?
- Turnip can be a noun or a verb.
- How do you pronounce turnip?
- Turnip is pronounced /ˈtɜːnɪp/ (UK).
- What is the plural of turnip?
- The plural of turnip is turnips.
Words near turnip in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: turnip (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: en-us-turnip.ogg.
Cite this entry: “turnip.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/turnip. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.