ETYM AS. bete, from Latin beta.
(Homonym: beat).
1. Biennial Eurasian plant usually having a swollen edible root; widely cultivated as a food crop; SYN. common beet, Beta vulgaris.
2. Round red root vegetable; SYN. beetroot.

Plant of the genus Beta of the goosefoot family Chenopodiaceae. The common beet B. vulgaris is used in one variety to produce sugar, and another, the mangelwurzel, is grown as cattle fodder. The beetroot, or red beet, B. rubra is a salad plant.