A turnip is a round, white and purple root vegetable with leafy green tops. It can be eaten raw or cooked in soups, stews, and other dishes.
From Middle English "turnep" or "turnep," where "turn" may refer to its rounded, turned shape, and the second part may be linked to "neep" (an old word for a type of root). The name grew out of comparing it to other root crops like parsnips and swedes.
Before pumpkins became the Halloween stars, people in parts of Europe carved lanterns out of turnips. The word hides an old root name "neep," which still pops up in "parsnip" and the Scottish "neeps" for mashed turnips.
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