| any of several annual herbs of the genus Nigella, having dissected leaves and showy blue or white flowers. |
ni·gel·la  (nī-jěl'ə)  n. See wild fennel. [Middle English, from Late Latin, black cumin, fennel, from feminine of Latin nigellus, blackish, diminutive of niger, black; see nekw-t- in Indo-European roots.] |
| wild fennel n. Any of various Mediterranean and western Asian annual herbs of the genus Nigella, having finely dissected leaves, showy white, blue, or yellow solitary flowers, and an aggregate fruit composed of several follicles. Also called nigella. |
ə