spignel
Syllables: spig·nel/ˈspɪɡnəl/
spignel noun: 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.
Noun
spignel (countable and uncountable, plural spignels)
- 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.
- I would gladly cõſẽt to thẽ yͭ holde yͭ yͤ herbe wich is called of the apothecaries feniculũ tortuoſum⸝ of yͤ Northẽ Engliſhe mẽ ſpiknel⸝ of the Duche mẽ berwurtz⸝ is yͤ true mew, if yͭ I could fynd any ſpicknel or berwurtz yͭ were of ij. cubites hygh. […] [W]here as the Mew of Mattiolus⸝ yͤ...1562, Wylliam Turner [i.e., William Turner], “Of the Herbe Called Meon or Mew”, in The Second Parte of Guilliam Turners Herball⸝ […], Cologne: […] Arnold Birckman, →OCLC, folio 56, verso
- The ſhops of the Low countries haue miſcalled it in times paſt by the name of Meum, & vſed it for the right Mew or Spiknell woort.1597, John Gerarde [i.e., John Gerard], “Of Wilde Parsley”, in The Herball or Generall Historie of Plantes. […], London: […] Edm[und] Bollifant, for Bonham and Iohn Norton, →OCLC, book II, page 867...
- Preceded by a descriptive word: a plant resembling Meum athamanticum.
- SESELI; Wild-ſpignel.1740, Philip Miller, “SESELI”, in The Second Volume of The Gardeners Dictionary: […], 2nd edition, volume II, London: […] C[harles] Rivington, […], →OCLC, column 1
- It [the carrot] is the daucus of botany, and was well known to the Greek writers, but is thought to have been by them confounded with the Cretan spignel, or Candy carrot, which grows abundantly in that island, and of which a species is found on Gog-Magog hills, in Cambridgeshire.1851, “On the Culture of Carrots”, in The British Farmer’s Magazine, volume XIX, number LVIII (New Series), London: Henry Wright, […], →OCLC, page 482
- The dried, powdered root of Meum athamanticum used as a cooking spice or a medicine.
- [G]entian root, celtic ſpikenard, ſpignel, (meum athamanticum) mountain poly leaves, St. John's wort leaves, […] each half an ounce, […]1747, “Electuaries. [Theriaca Andromachi. Venice Treacle.]”, in The British Dispensatory, Containing a Faithful Translation of the New London Pharmacopœia, […], London: […] Edward Cave, […], →OCLC...
- [H]e wrote a doctor's hand—the hand which from the beginning of has been so disastrous to the apothecary and so profitable to the undertaker: "Take […] of opobalsamum, Indian leaf, cinnamon, zedoary, ginger, coftus, coral, cassia, euphorbium, gum tragacanth, frankincense, styrax calamita, celtic...1897, Mark Twain [pseudonym; Samuel Langhorne Clemens], “[Those Extraordinary Twins] Chapter VII”, in The Tragedy of Pudd’nhead Wilson: And the Comedy Those Extraordinary Twins, Hartford, Conn....
Examples of spignel in a sentence
- Thus, ginger, horse radish, valerian, spignel, and sweet cicely, are pungent and aromatic; the root of white hellebore is bitter and nauseous.[1840], William Rhind, “The Roots of Plants”, in A History of the Vegetable Kingdom; Embracing the Physiology, Classification, and Culture...
- The root of the gout-weed (Ægopodium), of the meum or spignel, and of the sea-holly (Eryngium), have all of them been held in esteem for their aromatic stimulant properties.1854, Spencer Thomson, “A Few Words on the Economic Properties of British Wild Plants”, in Wanderings among the Wild Flowers: How to See...
- [T]he quacks who sell Mithridatic Lovage for Spignel deserve to be shown up.1947, Charles E[arle] Raven, “William How and Christopher Merret”, in English Naturalists from Neckham to Ray: A Study of the Making of the...
- Croft Muickan […] from Creit Mhuiceann[…], croft of baldmoneys or spignels.1984, Adam Watson, Elizabeth Allan, “Croft Muickan”, in The Place Names of Upper Deeside, Aberdeen: Aberdeen University Press, →ISBN, page...
Synonyms of spignel
Forms of spignel
| plural | spignels |
|---|---|
| alternative form | spicknel |
| alternative form | spikenel |
| alternative form | spiknel |
Origin of spignel
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.
Questions about spignel
- What does spignel mean?
- Spignel 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.
- How do you use spignel in a sentence?
- Thus, ginger, horse radish, valerian, spignel, and sweet cicely, are pungent and aromatic; the root of white hellebore is bitter and nauseous.
- What part of speech is spignel?
- Spignel is a noun.
- How do you pronounce spignel?
- Spignel is pronounced /ˈspɪɡnəl/ (UK).
- What is the plural of spignel?
- The plural of spignel is spignels.
Words near spignel in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: spignel (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-AcpoKrane-spignel.wav.
Cite this entry: “spignel.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/spignel. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.