Rutabaga
/ˌruː.təˈbeɪ.ɡə/noun
A large round root vegetable with yellow-orange flesh, also called a swede or yellow turnip.
Did you know?The English word came through North America from Swedish dialect rutabaga, a form influenced by rotabagge, literally meaning something like ‘root bag’ or ‘root lump,’ showing how ordinary food names can preserve old rural speech.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*rewdʰ-
“to dig, root up”
Old Norse
ON
rót
“root”
Swedish dialect
Swedish
rotabagge
“root lump; turnip-like root”
18th Century
English
rutabaga
“a yellow-fleshed turnip-like root vegetable”
Modern English
English
rutabaga
“a large edible root vegetable related to the turnip”