Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun An annual, aromatic Mediterranean herb (Pimpinella anisum) in the parsley family, cultivated for its seedlike fruits and the oil obtained from them.
  • noun The seedlike fruit of this plant, used to flavor foods, liqueurs, and candies.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun An annual umbelliferous plant, P'impinella Anisum.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun (Bot.) An umbelliferous plant (Pimpinella anisum) growing naturally in Egypt, and cultivated in Spain, Malta, etc., for its carminative and aromatic seeds.
  • noun The fruit or seeds of this plant.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun An umbelliferous plant (Pimpinella anisum) growing naturally in Egypt, and cultivated in Spain, Malta, etc., for its carminative and aromatic seeds, which are used as a spice. Has a licorice scent.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun liquorice-flavored seeds, used medicinally and in cooking and liquors
  • noun native to Egypt but cultivated widely for its aromatic seeds and the oil from them used medicinally and as a flavoring in cookery

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Middle English anis, from Old French, from Latin anīsum, from Greek annēson, annīson.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

Old French anis, from Latin anīsum, from Ancient Greek ἄνισον (anison).

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