A rutabaga is a round yellow root vegetable with a brown or purple skin.
[US]regional note: in BRIT, use swede
rutabaga in British English
(ˌruːtəˈbeɪɡə)
noun
1. US and Canadian
a Eurasian plant, Brassica napus (or B. napobrassica), cultivated for its bulbous edible root, which is used as a vegetable and as cattle fodder: family Brassicaceae (crucifers)
2.
the root of this plant
Also called (in Britain and certain other countries): swede
Word origin
C18: from Swedish dialect rotabagge, literally: root bag
rutabaga in American English
(ˌrutəˈbeɪgə; ˈrutəˌbeɪgə)
noun
1.
a turniplike plant (Brassica napobrassica) of the crucifer family, with a large, yellow root
2.
this edible root
Word origin
Swed dial. rotabagge < rot (< ON rot, root1) + bagge, ram, thick object < ON baggi > bag