parsnip

The word 'parsnip' has a convoluted history that illustrates linguistic blending and folk etymology. It originates from the Latin 'pastinaca', which referred to both the parsnip and the carrot. This passed into Old French as 'pasnaie'. In Middle English, it became 'passenep', influenced by the Old French 'panais'. The final '-nip' is a result of association with the unrelated word 'neep', an old term for turnip, completing the transformation to its modern form. Thus, the vegetable's name is a fusion of its Latin-derived root and a coincidental resemblance to another root vegetable's name.

The word is a simplex form. It entered English as a loanword from Old French, which itself evolved from Latin. The modern spelling does not contain separable, meaningful morphemes in English.