Adjacent Words

parsnip definitions

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WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: the whitish root of cultivated parsnip
2: a strong-scented plant cultivated for its edible root [syn: parsnip, Pastinaca sativa]
3: whitish edible root; eaten cooked

Merriam Webster's

noun Etymology: Middle English passenep, modification of Old French pasnaie, from Latin pastinaca, from pastinum 2-pronged dibble Date: 14th century a Eurasian biennial herb (Pastinaca sativa) of the carrot family with large pinnate leaves and yellow flowers that is cultivated for its long tapered edible root which is cooked as a vegetable; also the root

Merriam Webster's

geographical name — see Finlay

Oxford Reference Dictionary

n. 1 a biennial umbelliferous plant, Pastinaca sativa, with yellow flowers and a large pale-yellow tapering root. 2 this root eaten as a vegetable. Etymology: ME pas(se)nep (with assim. to nep turnip) f. OF pasnaie f. L pastinaca

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Parsnip Pars"nip, n. [OE. parsnepe, from a French form, fr. L. pastinaca; cf. pastinare to dig up, pastinum a kind of dibble; cf. OF. pastenade, pastenaque.] (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. Cow parsnip. See Cow parsnip. Meadow parsnip, the European cow parsnip. Poison parsnip, the wild stock of the parsnip. Water parsnip, any plant of the umbelliferous genus Sium, the species of which are poisonous.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(parsnips) A parsnip is a long cream-coloured root vegetable. N-COUNT