Where does “turnip” come from?

Turnip derives from Middle English turnepe, a blend of Middle English turnen (from Latin tornare, meaning to turn) and Latin nepeta (a plant), ultimately tracing to Proto-Indo-European terh₁- meaning to turn.

turnip (English): The white root of a yellow-flowered plant,...

Definitions

  1. The white root of a yellow-flowered plant,...

Ancestry of “turnip”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Englishturnepe—
2Middle Englishnepeturnip
3Old Englishnǣpturnip, rape
4Latinnāpusturnip, field mustard (Brassica rapa)
5Ancient Greekνᾶπυmustard
6Demoticsnwpt—

Words derived from “turnip”

Every word from Demotic snwpt →Every word from Ancient Greek νᾶπυ →Every word from Latin nāpus →