rutabaga

the word 'rutabaga' entered english in the late 18th century, borrowed from the swedish dialect term 'rotabagge', which literally means "root bag" or "root lump." this swedish term itself is a compound of 'rot' (root, from old norse 'rót') and 'bagge' (bag, lump). the vegetable, a hybrid of cabbage and turnip likely originating in scandinavia or russia, was introduced to britain and north america via sweden, bringing its swedish name with it. the english spelling 'rutabaga' is an anglicized approximation of the swedish pronunciation, obscuring the original transparent compound structure.

this word is a loanword where the original components are not directly recoverable from the modern english spelling. it is derived from the swedish dialectal word 'rotabagge', from 'rot' (root) + 'bagge' (bag, lump).