turnip,
n. [OE.
turnep; probably fr.
turn, or F.
tour a turn, turning lathe + OE.
nepe a turnip, AS.
n, L. napus. Cf. Turn, v. t., Navew.].
The edible, fleshy, roundish, or somewhat conical, root of a cruciferous plant (Brassica campestris, var. Napus); also, the plant itself. [1913 Webster]
Swedish turnip (Bot.), a kind of turnip. See Ruta-baga. -- Turnip flea (Zoöl.), a small flea-beetle (Haltica, striolata syn. 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. (Zoöl.) (a) The turnip flea. (b) A two-winged fly (Anthomyia radicum) whose larvæ live in the turnip root.