Speakur

Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

parsnip

/ˈpɑɹ.snɪp/

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.41 in modern English

Syllables
par-snip
IPA
/ˈpɑɹ.snɪp/
11
Scrabble Score
7
Letters
2
Syllables
6
Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

A biennial plant, Pastinaca sativa, related to the carrot.

noun

The root of the parsnip, when used as a vegetable.

noun

Acronym of politics, alcohol, religion, sex, narcotics, isms, pork (“a set of topics that may be controversial in a classroom setting”).

Uncountable

Etymology

From 16th-century parsnepe, from Middle English passenep, a modification of Old French pasnaie by influence of Middle English nepe (“turnip”), from Latin pastināca (“parsnip, carrot”), from pastinum (“two-pronged fork”) as in pastināre (“to dig up the ground”).. The irregular intrusive r may be due to influence from parsley.

Origin

Word Breakdown

  • Root: passenep, pasnaie, pastināca

Regional Pronunciation

  • American English: /ˈpɑɹ.snɪp/
  • British English: /ˈpɑː.snɪp/

Usage

Inflected Forms

parsnips (plural)

Derived Forms

parsniplike parsnippy parsnipy

Phrases

cow parsnip cultivated parsnip fine words butter no parsnips giant cow parsnip giant parsnip golden meadow parsnip meadow parsnip parsnip chervil

Synonyms

pastinaca sativa

Questions

How do you pronounce parsnip?
The recorded pronunciation is /ˈpɑɹ.snɪp/.
What does parsnip mean?
A biennial plant, Pastinaca sativa, related to the carrot.
Where does parsnip come from?
It is traced to Middle English.

How to pronounce parsnip

  1. Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “parsnip”.
  2. Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/ˈpɑɹ.snɪp/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
  3. Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “parsnip”.
  4. Repeat and practice — Say “parsnip” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.