fenugreek

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English fenigrek,^[2][3][4] borrowed from Old French fenugrec,^[5][6][7][2] which is from Latin faenugraecum, for faenum Graecum (“Greek hay”),^[5][8][6][4] from faenum (“hay”) and Graecus (“Greek”);^[4][3][8] Merriam-Webster Unabridged takes the Middle English word partly directly from Latin.^[3] The OED compares Occitan fenugrec, also fengrec.^[5] In Middle English the French form replaced Old English fenogrecum, an earlier borrowing of the Latin word.^[5][6][7][9] The Romans gave the plant this name because they used it, dried, as fodder.^[7][10][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

The plant, used in medicine: in Old English, in the Leechdoms.^[5][11] The Middle English form fenegrek is recorded before 1400 in the surgery of Lanfranc, for its flour and its root.^[2]

Semantic evolution

In Middle English the plant was a medicine, used widely as a powder or a poultice;^[2] the OED's definition notes that its seeds were used by farriers,^[5][11] and Merriam-Webster Unabridged lists curry, imitation vanilla and veterinary remedies among their uses.^[3] Johnson (1755) described it only as a plant, quoting Miller on its flowers and horned pods.^[12] Attributive uses such as fenugreek seed are recorded from 1614.^[5]

Timeline

• Old English – fenogrecum, the plant.^[5][11]
• before 1400 – fenegrek, in Lanfranc's surgery.^[2]
• 1614 – attributive, as in fenugreek seed.^[5]

Meanings

Noun

1. A leguminous annual herb of the Mediterranean and western Asia, Trigonella foenum-graecum, with strongly scented seeds.^[9][3][7]
2. The seeds of this plant, used as a spice in curries and in medicine.^[3][7][9]

Related words

• fennel
• Greek
• sainfoin
• finocchio

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e Kurath, Hans; Kuhn, Sherman M.; Lewis, Robert E., eds. (1952–2001), Middle English Dictionary, Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press; online edition ed. Frances McSparran et al. (2000–2018)
3. ^ a b c d e f Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
4. ^ a b c The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (online 2024), 5th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
6. ^ a b c Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
7. ^ a b c d e Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
8. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
9. ^ a b c Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
10. ^ Stevenson, Angus, ed. (2010), Oxford Dictionary of English, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
11. ^ a b c Kay, Christian; Roberts, Jane; Samuels, Michael; Wotherspoon, Irené, eds. (2009), Historical Thesaurus of the Oxford English Dictionary, Oxford: Oxford University Press; online edition (2024)
12. ^ Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.