Fennel #

Illustration of Foeniculum vulgare Mill. from Köhler's Medizinal-Pflanzen (1887)

Fennel (Foeniculum vulgare Mill.) is a culinary spice and herb and vegetable from the Apiaceae family,¹ originating in the region(s) of Med.² It is used for its fruit and leaf, primarily for fish, breads, sausages; colic. Its aroma is described as licorice-like, warm, with a heat index of 1.³

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Etymologies #

English fennel, a. 700 < Old English fenol, a. 700 < Latin faeniculum, via Vulgar Latin fēnoclum, fēnuclum substituted for classical Latin faeniculum, diminutive of faenum hay; cf. Old French fenoil (modern French fenouil), Provençal fenolh, Italian finocchio, Spanish hinojo.

Arabic شمر shamar ‘fennel’ < Aramaic simra ‘fennel’ < Akkadian šimru ‘fennel’

Mandarin Chinese 茴香 huíxiāng ‘fennel’ [hui-spice ], 茴 hui refers to fennel, anise, and related plants; it perhaps could be rendered as ‘muslim spice’ by way of its construction: 回 ‘Islam; Hui people’ + 艹 ‘grass, herb’ (Hu, 2005); or, phono semantic compund

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