English 'fennel' descends from Latin feniculum, a diminutive of fenum (hay), naming the plant for its sweet, grassy scent — a form borrowed into Old English before the Conquest, stable ever since, while its Italian cognate 'finocchio' evolved a colourful second life meaning 'to trick someone'.
A tall, aromatic perennial herb (Foeniculum vulgare) of the carrot family, native to the Mediterranean, cultivated for its feathery fronds, anise-flavoured seeds, and edible bulb.
The word 'fennel' descends from Old English 'finugl' or 'fenol', attested as early as the 9th century in Anglo-Saxon herbals such as the Leechbook of Bald (c. 900 CE). Old English borrowed the term from Latin 'faeniculum' (also spelled 'feniculum'), a diminutive of 'faenum' (hay), so named because the dried plant resembles hay in colour and scent. The Latin term is attested in Pliny the Elder (Naturalis Historia, 1st century CE) and Columella. The Latin 'faenum' derives from Proto-Italic *faisnom. The word passed through Vulgar Latin as 'fenuculum' giving Old French 'fenol' (Modern French 'fenouil'), Italian 'finocchio', Spanish 'hinojo', and Portuguese 'funcho'. Middle English 'fenel' is attested from around 1100 CE onwards, with spellings stabilising
The Italian word for fennel, 'finocchio', gave rise to the verb 'infinocchiare' — meaning to deceive or bamboozle someone. The connection comes from a medieval wine trade practice: unscrupulous sellers would offer customers fennel to chew before tasting wine, because fennel's powerful anise flavour masks sourness and off-notes, making poor wine taste acceptable. To 'fennel' someone became a byword for pulling the wool over their eyes, and the idiom survives in Italian to this