n.1 a cruciferous plant, Brassica rapa, with a large white globular root and sprouting leaves.
2 this root used as a vegetable.
3 a large thick old-fashioned watch.
Phrases and idioms:
turnip-top the leaves of the turnip eaten as a vegetable.
Derivatives:
turnipy adj.
Etymology: earlier turnep(e) f. neep f. L napus: first element of uncert. orig.