Meanings
fennel1
nounfennel (usually uncountable, plural fennels)
plural fennels
- uncountableusuallyA plant, Foeniculum vulgare, of the parsley family, which has a sweet, anise-like flavor.
- uncountableusuallycookingThe seeds of the fennel plant used as a spice in cooking.
Fennel2
Synonyms & antonyms
Similar
nounaromatic bulbous stem base eaten cooked or raw in salads
Similar
Also see
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Latinfaeniculum
- Late Latinfēnuculum
- Vulgar Latin*fēnuclum
- Proto-West Germanic*fenukl
- Old Englishfinuðl
- Middle Englishfenel
- Englishfennel
From the Middle English fenel, from the late Old English finuðl, finule (weak feminine forms); fenol, finul (masculine forms), from Proto-West Germanic *fenukl, from the Vulgar Latin *fēnuclum, fēnoclum, from Late Latin fēnuculum, from the Classical Latin faeniculum, a diminutive form of faenum (“hay”); compare the Italian finocchio, the Occitan fenolh, the French fenouil, and the Spanish hinojo. Doublet of finocchio and finook.
More words from Middle English, Old English, Proto-West Germanic
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Afrikaans vinkel
- vinkelspice used in cooking
Ancient Greek μάραθον, μάραθον
- μάραθον (márathon)Foeniculum vulgare, the plant
- μάραθον (márathon)bulb, leaves, or stalks eaten as a vegetable
Arabic شَمَر, شَمَر
- شَمَر (šamar)Foeniculum vulgare, the plant
- شَمَر (šamar)bulb, leaves, or stalks eaten as a vegetable
- شَمَر (šamar)spice used in cooking
Basque mihilu
- mihiluFoeniculum vulgare, the plant
Bulgarian див копър, сминд
- див копър (div kopăr)Foeniculum vulgare, the plant
- сминд (smind)Foeniculum vulgare, the plant
- див копър (div kopăr)bulb, leaves, or stalks eaten as a vegetable
- сминд (smind)bulb, leaves, or stalks eaten as a vegetable
Catalan fonoll
- fonollFoeniculum vulgare, the plant
Chinese Mandarin 茴香
- 茴香 (huíxiāng)Foeniculum vulgare, the plant
Czech fenykl, fenykl
- fenyklFoeniculum vulgare, the plant
- fenyklspice used in cooking
Danish fennikel, fennikel
- fennikelFoeniculum vulgare, the plant
- fennikelbulb, leaves, or stalks eaten as a vegetable
- fennikelspice used in cooking
Dutch venkel, venkel
- venkelFoeniculum vulgare, the plant
- venkelspice used in cooking
Esperanto fenkolo
- fenkoloFoeniculum vulgare, the plant
Estonian harilik apteegitill, fenkol
- harilik apteegitillFoeniculum vulgare, the plant
- fenkolbulb, leaves, or stalks eaten as a vegetable
- fenkolspice used in cooking
Finnish fenkoli, saksankumina
- fenkoliFoeniculum vulgare, the plant
- saksankuminaFoeniculum vulgare, the plant
- fenkolibulb, leaves, or stalks eaten as a vegetable
- fenkolispice used in cooking
French fenouil
- fenouilFoeniculum vulgare, the plant
German Fenchel, Fenchel
- FenchelFoeniculum vulgare, the plant
- Fenchelspice used in cooking
Greek μάραθο, μάραθος
- μάραθο (máratho)Foeniculum vulgare, the plant
- μάραθος (márathos)Foeniculum vulgare, the plant
- μάραθο (máratho)bulb, leaves, or stalks eaten as a vegetable
- φοινόκιο (foinókio)bulb, leaves, or stalks eaten as a vegetable
- μάραθο (máratho)spice used in cooking
Hebrew שֻׁמָּר, גּוּפְנָן
- שֻׁמָּר (šummā́r)Foeniculum vulgare, the plant
- גּוּפְנָן (gup̄nān)Foeniculum vulgare, the plant
Hindi सौंफ
- सौंफ (sa͠uph)spice used in cooking
Hungarian édeskömény, édeskömény
- édesköményFoeniculum vulgare, the plant
- édesköményspice used in cooking
Icelandic fennikka
- fennikkaFoeniculum vulgare, the plant
Indonesian adas
- adasFoeniculum vulgare, the plant
Irish finéal
- finéalFoeniculum vulgare, the plant
Italian finocchio, finocchio
- finocchioFoeniculum vulgare, the plant
- finocchiobulb, leaves, or stalks eaten as a vegetable
- finocchiospice used in cooking
Japanese 茴香, フィノッキオ
- 茴香 (uikyō)Foeniculum vulgare, the plant
- フィノッキオ (finokkio)bulb, leaves, or stalks eaten as a vegetable
- フェンネル (fenneru)spice used in cooking
Korean 회향
- 회향 (hoehyang)Foeniculum vulgare, the plant
Latin marathrum, fēnuculum
- marathrumFoeniculum vulgare, the plant
- fēnuculumFoeniculum vulgare, the plant
Malay adas landi, adas pedas
- adas landiFoeniculum vulgare, the plant
- adas pedasFoeniculum vulgare, the plant
- jintan hitamspice used in cooking
Māori taru haunga
- taru haungaFoeniculum vulgare, the plant
Norwegian Bokmål fennikel
- fennikelFoeniculum vulgare, the plant
Persian رازیانه, رازیانه
- رازیانه (râziyâne)Foeniculum vulgare, the plant
- رازیانه (râziyâne)bulb, leaves, or stalks eaten as a vegetable
- رازیانه (râziyâne)spice used in cooking
Polish fenkuł, fenkuł włoski
- fenkułFoeniculum vulgare, the plant
- fenkuł włoskiFoeniculum vulgare, the plant
- koper włoskiFoeniculum vulgare, the plant
- koper włoskibulb, leaves, or stalks eaten as a vegetable
- koper włoskispice used in cooking
Portuguese funcho, erva-doce
- funchoFoeniculum vulgare, the plant
- erva-doceFoeniculum vulgare, the plant
- funchobulb, leaves, or stalks eaten as a vegetable
- funchospice used in cooking
Romanian fenicul
- feniculFoeniculum vulgare, the plant
Russian фе́нхель, фе́нхель
- фе́нхель (fénxelʹ)Foeniculum vulgare, the plant
- фе́нхель (fénxelʹ)bulb, leaves, or stalks eaten as a vegetable
- фе́нхель (fénxelʹ)spice used in cooking
Slovak fenikel
- fenikelFoeniculum vulgare, the plant
Spanish hinojo, hinojo
- hinojoFoeniculum vulgare, the plant
- hinojospice used in cooking
Swahili mshamari, shamari
- mshamariFoeniculum vulgare, the plant
- shamarispice used in cooking
Swedish fänkål, fänkål
- fänkålFoeniculum vulgare, the plant
- fänkålbulb, leaves, or stalks eaten as a vegetable
- fänkålspice used in cooking
Tamil பெருஞ்சீரகம், சோம்பு
- பெருஞ்சீரகம் (peruñcīrakam)Foeniculum vulgare, the plant
- சோம்பு (cōmpu)Foeniculum vulgare, the plant
Thai ผักชีล้อม
- ผักชีล้อม (chii-lɔ́ɔm)Foeniculum vulgare, the plant
Turkish rezene, rezene
- rezeneFoeniculum vulgare, the plant
- rezenebulb, leaves, or stalks eaten as a vegetable
- rezenespice used in cooking
Ukrainian фе́нхель, фе́нхель
- фе́нхель (fénxelʹ)Foeniculum vulgare, the plant
- фе́нхель (fénxelʹ)bulb, leaves, or stalks eaten as a vegetable
Welsh ffenigl, ffunell
- ffeniglFoeniculum vulgare, the plant
- ffunellFoeniculum vulgare, the plant
Yiddish פֿענכל, פֿענכל
- פֿענכל (fenkhl)Foeniculum vulgare, the plant
- פֿענכל (fenkhl)bulb, leaves, or stalks eaten as a vegetable
- פֿענכל (fenkhl)spice used in cooking
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with fennel
All rhymes →Cite this entry
APA
fennel. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/fennel
MLA
“fennel.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/fennel. Accessed November 3, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “fennel,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/fennel.
Source: fennel on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.