fennel
UK[ˈfɛnl]US[ˈfɛnl]
n
A yellow-flowered plant of the parsley family, with feathery leaves and aromatic seeds, used as a culinary herb and for its medicinal properties.
Etymology
The journey of 'fennel' begins with the Latin word fenum, meaning "hay," likely due to the plant's fine, hay-like leaves. From this, the diminutive form feniculum ("little hay") was created, which passed into various Germanic languages. Old English adopted it as finol, and through regular sound changes, it evolved into the Middle English fenel or fynel. The modern spelling 'fennel' stabilized in the early modern period, preserving the name of this aromatic plant whose ancient association with "hay" is now obscured by its primary identity as a culinary and medicinal herb.
Analysis
The word 'fennel' is a simplex loanword from Old English finol, finugl, which was borrowed from Latin feniculum, a diminutive of fenum (hay). It is not productively segmented into meaningful morphemes in modern English.
Examples
The salmon was roasted with slices of lemon and fresh fennel.
Fennel seeds are often chewed after meals in some cultures to aid digestion.
A light salad of shaved fennel and orange segments makes a refreshing starter.