man·gel-wur·zel

(măng′gəl-wûr′zəl)

A variety of the common beet having a large yellowish root, used chiefly as cattle feed.

[German Mangelwurzel, alteration (influenced by Mangel, scarcity) of Mangoldwurzel : Mangold, beet (from Middle High German mānegolt) + Wurzel, root; see wrād- in Indo-European roots.]

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

man•gel-wur•zel

(ˈmæŋ gəlˈwɜr zəl)

n.

a variety of beet cultivated as food for livestock.

Also called man′gel.

[1770–80; < German, variant of Mangoldwurzel=Mangold beet + Wurzel root; compare wort²]

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Noun	1.	mangel-wurzel - beet with a large yellowish root; grown chiefly as cattle feed Beta vulgaris vulgaris, mangold, mangold-wurzel beet, Beta vulgaris, common beet - biennial Eurasian plant usually having a swollen edible root; widely cultivated as a food crop
	2.	mangel-wurzel - cultivated as feed for livestock beet, beetroot - round red root vegetable

Mentioned in

References in classic literature

In Middlemarch admiration was more reserved: most persons there were inclined to believe that the merit of Fred's authorship was due to his wife, since they had never expected Fred Vincy to write on turnips and mangel-wurzel.

View in context

ECCENTRIC Jake Mangel-Wurzel's appeal against his conviction for owning a dangerously out of control dog has failed.

Jake considers giving up out of control dog; 80-year-old appeared to admit defeat during court hearing and said: 'really, he is too much for me. i've made a mistake.'

Mangel beets, often called forage beets or mangel-wurzel beets, grow huge roots weighing from 5 to 20 pounds each that can be used as livestock fodder in winter.

All about growing beets

It's a Swedish turnip or yellow turnip in the United States and turnip in Ireland, but in Scotland it's called "neep." In northeastern England, turnips and rutabagas are called "snaggers," so citizens there won't confuse them with another large beet known as a mangel-wurzel.

Rutabagas: the every-person root: easy to grow and good to eat, this unique vegetable will win you over

In years gone by they were a familiar sight in the English countryside - those roughly- made figures of sticks and straw, dressed in old ragged clothes with perhaps a turnip or a mangel-wurzel for a head, swaying in the breeze to scare the birds away from the crops.

A field of competitors; WEEKEND: GARDENING: THE VILLAGE COMPETITION WITH A DIFFERENCE

This one was built in 1854 so they could get the mangel-wurzel crop down from Lord Luvaduck's farm at Throxton Blanket.

CHUG YOUR WAY TO HAPPINESS

HUDDERSFIELD eccentric Jake Mangel-Wurzel is urging people to eat out-of-date foods - after scoffing a seven-year-old Easter Egg.

Now Jake dines on 7-year-old chocolate; CALL TO EAT OUT-OF-DATE FOOD

By MARTIN SHAW AND HENRYK ZIENTEK editorial@examiner.co.uk ECCENTRIC Jake Mangel-Wurzel has chained himself to his golden globe folly in Huddersfield town centre.

Chain reaction to Folly threat

Jake Mangel-Wurzel has chained himself to his folly and will sleep out for as long as it takes.

You say..

So when Huddersfield eccentric Jake Mangel-Wurzel appeared in court yesterday for the first time in decades, his performance was bound to be memorable.

Jake's court 'show'

Three months ago, joker Jake Mangel-Wurzel took to a rowing boat to highlight the extent of the flooding behind his home at Peat Ponds off Laund Road.

Workmen drain the 'lake'

Three months ago, joker Jake Mangel-Wurzel took to a rowing boat to highlight the extent of flooding behind his home at Peat Ponds, off Laund Road.

'Lake' on playing fields to be drained; developer to pump water away