faeniculum

Forms

faeniculum n (genitive faeniculī); second declension^[1] Also spelled fēniculum and foeniculum,^[2][1] and faenuculum in Serenus Sammonicus and Ambrose.^[3] Wiktionary's main form is the Late Latin fēnuculum.^[4]

Etymology

It is formed from Latin faenum (“hay”) + -culum, a diminutive.^[1][5][3] Etymonline explains the name by the hay-like look of its feathery leaves.^[6] The base faenum is of unknown origin if ⟨fae-⟩ is the original spelling; if ⟨fē-⟩ is, it goes back to Proto-Indo-European *dʰeh₁-no- (“yield”).^[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is found from Plautus on,^[5] in the Pseudolus, meaning fennel.^[7]

Semantic evolution

Cato and Pliny the Elder mention it,^[7][2] and it was used as a condiment and as a medicine.^[1][7] Isidore of Seville says that the juice of its stalk or root sharpens the sight.^[3]

In Medieval Latin it remained the name of the plant and its seed, also paid as rent, and Old English glosses render it as finul.^[8] Through the Late Latin form fēnuculum it gave Italian finocchio and Sardinian fenugu,^[4] and through Vulgar Latin *fenuculum English fennel.^[6]

Timeline

• c. 250–184 BC – Plautus uses it in the Pseudolus.^[7][9]
• 234–149 BC – Cato mentions it.^[7][9]
• 23/24–79 AD – Pliny the Elder describes it.^[2][7]
• c. 560–636 AD – Isidore of Seville explains its effect on the eyes.^[3][9]
• 10th century – an Old English glossary renders it finul.^[8]

Meanings

Noun

1. fennel (Foeniculum vulgare), used as a condiment or a medicine.^[1][2][8]
2. (Medieval Latin) Fennel seed, also as rent.^[8]

Word family

• faeniculārius

References

1. ^ a b c d e Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
2. ^ a b c d Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
3. ^ a b c d Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
4. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
5. ^ a b c de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
6. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
7. ^ a b c d e f Conte, Gian Biagio; Pianezzola, Emilio; Ranucci, Giuliano (2010), il Latino: Vocabolario della lingua latina, 3rd ed., Florence: Le Monnier
8. ^ a b c d Latham, R. E., D. R. Howlett, R. K. Ashdowne, et al. (1975–2013), Dictionary of Medieval Latin from British Sources, London: British Academy / Oxford University Press
9. ^ a b c Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de