Meaning

noun widely cultivated plant having a large fleshy edible white or yellow root

noun root of any of several members of the mustard family

originFrom Middle English turnepe, probably from turn + Middle English nepe, from Old English nǣp, from Latin nāpus. The component turn may be due to the round shape of the plant as though turned on a lathe, or because it must be turned and twisted to be harvested. Cognate to neep. See also parsnip.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 3.0