Swedish turnip

noun

1. rutabaga.

Word History and Origins

Origin of Swedish turnip¹

First recorded in 1800–10; so called because introduced into Great Britain from Sweden

Example Sentences

This is, perhaps, the reason that it’s sometimes called a Swedish turnip or simply a swede.

From The New Yorker

Some of the yellow ones were probably rutabagas, a close relative also known as Swedish turnips or just Swedes.

From Washington Post

In these respects, it is a better food than Swedish turnips—upon which sheep are sometimes fed—which become rather too fibrous and astringent, in spring, for the secretion of milk.

From Project Gutenberg

Three or four Swedish turnips or an equivalent of carrots is an excellent cooling food for a horse at hard work.

From Project Gutenberg

The other explained the law, of which he knew as much as a Swedish turnip, on the subject of treason felony.

From Project Gutenberg