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Foeniculum dulce

Foeniculum dulce

9.8
A type of fennel grown for its round edible stem and mild anise-like taste
  • noun
  • Specialized
translation icon : Foeniculum dulce
  • The chef added finely sliced Foeniculum dulce to the salad for a fresh, anise-like flavor.

Examples

  • Grilled Foeniculum dulce pairs well with citrus and seafood dishes.

  • I love cooking with Foeniculum dulce for its unique flavor.

  • Farmers in Italy have cultivated Foeniculum dulce for centuries due to its unique taste and texture.

  • Have you ever tried Foeniculum dulce in your salads?

  • Farmers in Italy have cultivated Foeniculum dulce for centuries due to its unique taste and texture.

  • Grilled Foeniculum dulce pairs well with citrus and seafood dishes.

  • The chef added finely sliced Foeniculum dulce to the salad for a fresh, anise-like flavor.

Synonyms

fennel
vsFoeniculum dulce
14 3.2

A plant with a round white bulb eaten raw or cooked like a vegetable

is the cultivated variety rather than the general plant
finocchio
vsFoeniculum dulce
1 9.9

A vegetable with a round white bulb used in salads and cooking that smells a little like licorice

focuses on general vegetable use rather than dish-specific contexts
Foeniculum vulgare dulce
vsFoeniculum dulce
  • Specialized
9.9

A type of fennel with a round white stem eaten raw or cooked

is described without mentioning common popular names
Florence fennel
vsFoeniculum dulce
7.9

A vegetable with a swollen white bulb and a sweet, licorice-like taste that you eat cooked or raw

emphasizes being a cultivated variety rather than a general type

Surface Forms

Morphology

Foeniculum + dulce

If a learner knows 'Foeniculum' as the fennel genus and 'dulce' as 'sweet', they can partially infer this refers to a 'sweet' variety of fennel, so some meaning is compositional. However, as a Latin binomial the specific culinary sense (a variety cultivated for an edible bulb-like stem) and the use of 'dulce' here require botanical/domain knowledge and the second constituent was not defined, so the full meaning is not fully predictable to a B1 learner.

Etymology

Foeniculum dulce comes from Latin words: foeniculum (a small fennel) and dulce ('sweet'). Farmers called this plant that name because its bulb-like stem tastes mild and sweet and is eaten as a vegetable, so the name points to its edible, 'sweet' quality.