Tur"nip (?), n. [OE. turnep; probably fr. turn, or F. tour a turn, turning lathe + OE. nepe a turnip, AS. n&aemac;pe, L. napus. Cf. Turn,v. t., Navew.] Bot.
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 Zool., a small flea-beetle (Haltica, ∨ 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. Zool. (a) The turnip flea. (b) A two-winged fly (Anthomyia radicum) whose larvae live in the turnip root.
© Webster 1913.