Meaning

noun the whitish root of cultivated parsnip

noun a strong-scented plant cultivated for its edible root

noun whitish edible root; eaten cooked

originFrom 16th-century parsnepe, from Middle English passenep, a modification of Old French pasnaie by influence of Middle English nepe (“turnip”), from Latin pastināca (“parsnip, carrot”), from pastinum (“two-pronged fork”) as in pastināre (“to dig up the ground”).

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 3.0