parsnip
/ˈpɑɹ.snɪp/
"parsnip" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“parsnip” is uncommon English (frequency #58,918 among 4,417 “P” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- #58,918
- frequency rank, English
- 4,417
- “P” headwords
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A biennial plant, Pastinaca sativa, related to the carrot.
Corpus desk
Index EN-parsnip · parsnip · English
parsnip · rank #58,918 · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-RARE #58,918
- LEN-LONG 7 letters
- VOW-2 2 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-MID 4,417
- PHOTO-FINISH parodying
Nearest frequency peer: parodying (-1 rank slots)
Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern
Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.
Long-tail ranks near “parsnip”
Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter
- overshot
overshot
41,088 corpus weight
- pacey
pacey
41,087 corpus weight
- paean
paean
41,085 corpus weight
- parodying
parodying
41,084 corpus weight
- parsnip
parsnip
41,083 corpus weight
- peal
peal
41,078 corpus weight
What this shows Long-tail view: where “parsnip” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | parsnip |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈpɑɹ.snɪp/ |
| Letters | 7 |
| Frequency rank | #58,918 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “parsnip” in English
Rare enough to double-check
parsnip is uncommon English at frequency #58,918 among 4,417 “P” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈpɑɹ.snɪp/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.
We couldn't generate a plausible misspelling set for parsnip, a sign its spelling follows regular English conventions. It is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, since its spelling is unusual enough that it doesn't cluster with a lookalike.
Etymologically, the entry records: 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 groun… The correct English form is parsnip, spelled P-A-R-S-N-I-P.
Definition
- 1A biennial plant, Pastinaca sativa, related to the carrot.
- 2The root of the parsnip, when used as a vegetable.
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”).
This word in other languages
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Similar English words by spelling shape
Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "parsnip", not the corpus desk frequency band.
Same letter count
Frequency-ranked English headwords with 7 letters (nearest by frequency rank).