spikenel

spike·nel
S1P3I1K5E1N1E1L1
US, UK/ˈspɪknəl/US, UK/ˈspaɪk-/

A form of spignel — 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.

Scrabble 14
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Meanings

nounspikenel (plural not attested)
  1. no pluralrareRare spelling of spignel.

    MEW, the Herb call'd alſo Spikenel and wild Dill.

    1726, N[athan] Bailey, “MEW”, in An Universal Etymological English Dictionary: […], 3rd edition, London: […] J. Darby, […], →OCLC, column 1
    2 more examples

    A mixture of many articles is given by the natives, and known as "Treak Farook", or "Theriaca Andromachi". […] Poly mountain, ground pine, storax in tear, spikenel, amomum, valerian, Celtic spikenard, sealed earth, Indian leaf, gentian, aniseed, balsam, gum arabic, cardamoms, flowers St. John's wort.

    1889 April 10, W. A. Morris, “On Beri-beri”, in Transactions of the Epidemiological Society of London, volume VIII (New Series), London: Shaw and Sons, […], →OCLC, page 112

    You pluck a goose while it yet lives, then you butter and lard it well. A duck will do, but there's more meat on a goose. You set it within a ring of fires, supplied with a bowl of water with salt and spikenel in it.

    2015, Penelope Wilcock, chapter 5, in The Beautiful Thread (The Hawk & the Dove Series), Oxford, Oxfordshire: Lion Fiction, Lion Hudson, published 2016, →ISBN, page 140

Synonyms & antonyms

Also see
meon
Cite this entry
APA

spikenel. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/spikenel

MLA

“spikenel.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/spikenel. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “spikenel,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/spikenel.

Source: spikenel on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.