Fennel
//ˈfɛnəl// name, noun
name, noun ·Uncommon ·Advanced level
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A plant, Foeniculum vulgare, of the parsley family, which has a sweet, anise-like flavor. uncountable, usually
- 2 fennel seeds are ground and used as a spice or as an ingredient of a spice mixture wordnet
- 3 The bulb, leaves, or stalks of the plant, eaten as a vegetable. uncountable, usually
- 4 leaves used for seasoning wordnet
- 5 The seeds of the fennel plant used as a spice in cooking. uncountable, usually
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- 6 aromatic bulbous stem base eaten cooked or raw in salads wordnet
- 7 any of several aromatic herbs having edible seeds and leaves and stems wordnet
Proper Noun
- 1 A surname.
Example
More examples"Chewing on fennel seeds can keep your breath fresh."
Etymology
From the Middle English fenel, from the late Old English finuðl, finule (weak feminine forms); fenol, finul (masculine forms), from Proto-West Germanic *fenukl, from the Vulgar Latin *fēnuclum, fēnoclum, from Late Latin fēnuculum, from the Classical Latin faeniculum, a diminutive form of faenum (“hay”); compare the Italian finocchio, the Occitan fenolh, the French fenouil, and the Spanish hinojo. Doublet of finocchio and finook.
Related phrases
More for "fennel"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.