The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
Turnip \Tur"nip\ (t[^u]r"n[i^]p), n. [OE. turnep; probably fr.
turn, or F. tour a turn, turning lathe + OE. nepe a turnip,
AS. n[=ae]pe, L. napus. Cf. Turn, v. t., Navew.] (Bot.)
The edible, fleshy, roundish, or somewhat conical, root of a
cruciferous plant (Brassica campestris, var. Napus); also,
the plant itself. [Formerly written also turnep.]
[1913 Webster]
Swedish turnip (Bot.), a kind of turnip. See Ruta-baga.
Turnip flea (Zool.), 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. (Zool.)
(a) The turnip flea.
(b) A two-winged fly (Anthomyia radicum) whose larvae live
in the turnip root.
[1913 Webster]