parsnip

• POS: Noun
• HYPHEN: pars=nip

CIDE DICTIONARY

parsnip, n. [OE. parsnepe, from a French form, fr. L. pastinaca; cf. pastinare to dig up, pastinum a kind of dibble; cf. OF. pastenade, pastenaque.].

 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.  [1913 Webster]

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.

OXFORD DICTIONARY

parsnip, 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