parsnip
UK /ˈpɑː.snɪp/ · US /ˈpɑɹ.snɪp/ noun
Forms parsnips
- noun A biennial plant, Pastinaca sativa, related to the carrot.
- noun The root of the parsnip, when used as a vegetable.
Synonyms
Etymology
From 16th-century parsnepe, from Middle English passenep, a modification of Old French pasnaie by influence of Middle English nepe (“turnip”), from Latin pastināca (“parsnip, carrot”), from pastinum (“two-pronged fork”) as in pastināre (“to dig up the ground”).. The irregular intrusive r may be due to influence from parsley.
Webster’s 1913
- noun 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. Cow parsnip. See Cow parsnip.
Etymology [OE. parsnepe, from a French form, fr. L. pastinaca; cf. pastinare to dig up, pastinum a kind of dibble; cf. OF. pastenade, pastenaque.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “parsnip”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details