Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)
Parsnip \Pars"nip\, n. [OE. parsnepe, from a French form, fr. L.
pastinaca; cf. pastinare to dig up, pastinum a kind of
dibble; cf. OF. pastenade, pastenaque.] (Bot.)
The aromatic and edible spindle-shaped root of the cultivated
form of the Pastinaca sativa, a biennial umbelliferous plant
which is very poisonous in its wild state; also, the plant
itself.
{Cow parsnip}. See {Cow parsnip}.
{Meadow parsnip}, the European cow parsnip.
{Poison parsnip}, the wild stock of the parsnip.
{Water parsnip}, any plant of the umbelliferous genus {Sium},
the species of which are poisonous.
Source : WordNet®
parsnip
n 1: the whitish root of cultivated parsnip
2: a strong-scented plant cultivated for its edible root [syn:
{Pastinaca sativa}]
3: whitish edible root; eaten cooked