Webster
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Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary · 1913

Fennel

Fen′nel (fĕn′nĕl), n. [AS. fenol, finol, from L. feniculum, faeniculum, dim. of fenum, faenum, hay: cf. F. fenouil. Cf. Fenugreek. Finochio.] (Bot.) A perennial plant of the genus Fæniculum (F. vulgare), having very finely divided leaves. It is cultivated in gardens for the agreeable aromatic flavor of its seeds.

Smell of sweetest fennel. Milton.

A sprig of fennel was in fact the theological smelling bottle of the tender sex. S. G. Goodrich.

Azorean, or Sweet, fennel, (Fæniculum dulce). It is a smaller and stouter plant than the common fennel, and is used as a pot herb. — Dog's fennel (Anthemis Cotula), a foul-smelling European weed; — called also mayweed. — Fennel flower (Bot.), an herb (Nigella) of the Buttercup family, having leaves finely divided, like those of the fennel. N. Damascena is common in gardens. N. sativa furnishes the fennel seed, used as a condiment, etc., in India. These seeds are the "fitches" mentioned in Isaiah (xxviii. 25). — Fennel water (Med.), the distilled water of fennel seed. It is stimulant and carminative. — Giant fennel (Ferula communis), has stems full of pith, which, it is said, were used to carry fire, first, by Prometheus. — Hog's fennel, a European plant (Peucedanum officinale) looking something like fennel.

Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Noah Porter, editor (Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913). Public domain. Text as transcribed by MICRA, Inc., from Project Gutenberg. Changed for Deep Dive Bible: Greek, which our source spelled in Latin letters, set in Greek letters; entries of one spelling merged into one article; Greek words our source left out (shown as “?”), read from the 1898 printing, from the same plates (the Library of Congress’s copy), where the place could be found with certainty. Of the others, 1,362 (a word or a single letter each) were inferred by AI from the context by the dictionary’s own rules and are marked with a wavy underline (tap or point at one to see the note); the rest, which could not be inferred with confidence, are left as “?”.