Etymology

spignel

spig·nel
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Today it means: Meum athamanticum, an ornamental plant in the Apiaceae family found in mountain areas in Central and Western Europe, with roots and feathery leaves used as food and for medicinal purposes. Full definition →

Middle English spigurnel ← Anglo-Norman spigurnel ← Latin spigurnella
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The story

  1. Latin · derived fromspigurnella
  2. Anglo-Norman · derived fromspigurnel
  3. Middle English · inherited fromspigurnel“unidentified broomlike flowering plant with medicinal uses”
  4. English todayspignel

Either: * an alteration of Middle English spigurnel (“unidentified broomlike flowering plant with medicinal uses”) [and other forms], borrowed from Anglo-Norman spigurnel, spigurnelle, and Anglo-Latin spigurnella, further etymology unknown; or * from spike + nail, because of the shape of its capillary leaves.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.