Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “fennel” come from?

Fennel comes from Middle English fenel, from Old English finuðl, from Old French fenoil, from Late Latin fenuculum, ultimately from Latin fenum meaning hay, with the diminutive suffix -culus.

fennel (English): A plant, "Foeniculum vulgare", of the parsley...

Definitions

  1. A plant, "Foeniculum vulgare", of the parsley...

Ancestry of “fennel”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Englishfenelfennel
2Old Englishfenol—
3Old Frenchfenoilfennel
4Vulgar Latinfenuclum—
5Latinfēnuculum—
6Latinfēnum—
7Latinfaenumhay; any dried plant; fenugreek
8Proto-Indo-Europeandʰeh₁(y)-to suckle, nurse

Words derived from “fennel”

  • dogfennel
  • fennelflower
Every word from Proto-Indo-European dʰeh₁(y)- →