parsnip

The word traces to Latin pastināca ("parsnip, carrot"), itself from pastinum, a two-pronged digging fork, and the verb pastināre, "to dig up the ground." This passed through Old French pasnaie into Middle English passenep, where it merged with Middle English nepe ("turnip").

The name shifted shape as it crossed languages: the Latin word for a digging tool became a word for the thing dug up, and later English speakers reshaped it by association with "turnip." A stray "r" then crept in, likely borrowed from the word "parsley."

Its Middle English form was reshaped by "turnip" (from "nepe"), and its spelling was likely nudged by "parsley" — both plant words leaving fingerprints on its final form.