fenouil

Forms

fenouil m (plural fenouils)^[1] Old French fenoil; the spelling fenouil is recorded by Furetière in 1690.^[2][3]

Etymology

It is inherited from Old French fenoil, inherited from Late Latin fenuculum (“fennel”) (early 3rd century), the Classical Latin form being fēniculum.^[2][4][5] Bloch and Wartburg and Wiktionary posit a syncopated Vulgar Latin *fenuclum.^[6][1] The Latin word is a diminutive of fēnum (“hay”), properly “little hay”.^[7][6][3]

Cognate with Italian finocchio, Old Occitan fenolh, Catalan fonoll, Spanish hinojo and Portuguese funcho.^[6][8][9]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first found as fenoil in Chrétien de Troyes's Cligès (1176), naming the fennel plant.^[2][7]

Semantic evolution

As in Latin, the word names the aniseed-flavoured plant.^[7] It was also used of plants that resemble it, with qualifiers: fenouil bâtard is dill and fenouil marin rock samphire.^[8][10] The smell of fennel gave fenouillet (1628), an apple, and fenouillette (1694), a spirit distilled with fennel seed.^[7]

Littré notes that in the 17th century the word was pronounced fenou, even before a vowel.^[8] Old English fenol, the source of English fennel, may have come through or been influenced by Old French fenoil.^[11]

Timeline

• 1176 – Fenoil in Chrétien de Troyes's Cligès.^[2]
• 13th century – The Roman de la Rose has a path plaine de fenoil et de mente.^[8]
• 1628 – The derivative fenouillet names an apple.^[7][6]
• 1690 – Furetière spells it fenouil.^[3]

Meanings

Noun

1. fennel, an umbellifer with finely cut leaves and an aniseed taste, grown as a vegetable and a herb: une salade de fenouil.^[2][10]
2. (cooking) Its leaves, seeds or fleshy leaf base, used to flavour or as a vegetable: bulbe de fenouil.^[2][10]
3. In names of other plants: fenouil bâtard (dill), fenouil marin (rock samphire).^[10][8]

Word family

• fenouillet
• fenouillette

Related words

• foin
• Latin fēnum
• English fennel

References

1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f Trésor de la langue française informatisé (2004), ATILF – CNRS & Université de Lorraine, atilf.fr/tlfi; electronic version of Imbs, Paul; Quemada, Bernard, eds. (1971–1994), Trésor de la langue française, Paris: CNRS / Gallimard
3. ^ a b c Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
4. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
5. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 3, 454a
6. ^ a b c d Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
7. ^ a b c d e Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
8. ^ a b c d e Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
9. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
10. ^ a b c d Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
11. ^ Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com