swede
n. C / Un. a large, round root vegetable with yellow flesh and purple skin. In some places, people call it a rutabaga or a yellow turnip.
n. a large, round, edible root vegetable belonging to the species Brassica napus. Often distinguished from the white turnip by its larger size and yellow-orange flesh.
I usually roast swede with other root vegetables for dinner.
The traditional recipe for the stew requires mashed swede and carrots to thicken the broth.
While commonly used as livestock fodder in some regions, the swede remains a staple of northern European cuisine, particularly when mashed with butter and pepper.
From Middle Low German Swêde, from a Germanic word akin to Old Norse Svíþjóð, Old English Swēoþēod (“Sweden”, literally “Swede nation”), itself from Swēo (“Swede”), from Proto-Germanic *swihô (“Swede”). Cognate with Dutch Zweed, German Schwede. Doublet of suede.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Uncountable when referring to the vegetable as a food substance; countable when referring to the individual plants or roots.
Last updated May 9, 2026