# spignel

> English word · Noun · IPA /ˈspɪɡnəl/

## Definitions
1. 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.
2. Preceded by a descriptive word: a plant resembling Meum athamanticum.
3. The dried, powdered root of Meum athamanticum used as a cooking spice or a medicine.

## Etymology
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.

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/spignel