Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “fenugreek” come from?

Fenugreek comes from Middle English fenygreke, from Old French fenugrec, blending Latin foenum and graecus, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European roots meaning to place and to ripen.

fenugreek (English): Any of the species leguminous plant, "Trigonella...

Definitions

  1. Any of the species leguminous plant, "Trigonella...

Ancestry of “fenugreek”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Englishfenygrekefenugreek
2Old Frenchfenigrec—
3LatinfoenumAlternative spelling of faenum
4Proto-Indo-Europeandʰeh₁(y)-no-—
5Proto-Indo-Europeandʰeh₁(y)-to suckle, nurse
Every word from Proto-Indo-European dʰeh₁(y)- →