Category:Turnip

Tur"nip, n. Etym: [oe. turnep; probably fr. turn, or f. tour a turn, Turning lathe + oe. nepe a turnip, as. næpe, l. napus. Cf. Turn,v. T., Navew.] (bot.)

Defn: the edible, fleshy, roundish, or somewhat conical, root of a Cruciferous plant (brassica campestris, var. Napus); also, the plant Itself. [formerly written also turnep.] Swedish turnip (bot.), a kind Of turnip. See ruta-baga. -- turnip flea (zoöl.), a small flea-beetle (haltica, or Phyllotreta, striolata), which feeds upon the turnip, and often Seriously injures it. It is black with a stripe of yellow on each Elytron. The name is also applied to several other small insects Which are injurious to turnips. See illust. under flea-beetle. -- turnip fly. (zoöl.) (a) the turnip flea. (b) a two-winged fly (anthomyia radicum) whose larvæ live in the turnip root.