parsnip
/ˈpɑɹ.snɪp/
"parsnip" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“parsnip” is uncommon English (frequency #58,918 among 46,516 “P” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- #58,918
- frequency rank, English
- 46,516
- “P” headwords
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A biennial plant, Pastinaca sativa, related to the carrot.
| 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) |
Where “parsnip” sits in English frequency
Rare enough to double-check
parsnip is uncommon English at frequency #58,918 among 46,516 “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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Using “parsnip”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is P-A-R-S-N-I-P - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈpɑɹ.snɪp/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Other uncommon English words near this rank
Data Source
Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.