faenum

Etymology
From Proto-Italic *fēnom, from earlier *θēnom, from, from , with semantic shift "to suckle" > "to bring forth" > "produce, yield" > "hay". See also Latin.

Noun

 * 1) hay
 * 2) * 124 – c. 170 , Apuleius, Metamorphōsēs 3.29:
 * "la"
 * 1) * 124 – c. 170 , Apuleius, Metamorphōsēs 3.29:
 * "la"

- Tunc igitur ā rosīs et quidem necessāriō temperāvī et cāsum praesentem tolerāns in asinī faciem faena rōdēbam.


 * 1) * c. 400 , Vegetius, Mūlomedicīna 2.148.1:
 * Sī fimum gallināceum animal in hordeō comedērit vel faenō sūmpserit, quasi ā venēnātīs bēstiīs percussum cruciātur
 * If the animal has eaten chicken excrement in barley or taken with the hay, it is tormented as if struck by venomous beasts
 * 1)  any dried plant
 * 2)  fenugreek
 * 1)  fenugreek
 * 1)  fenugreek

Usage notes
The plural is rare, understandably for a mass noun, with four attestations in Thesaurus Linguae Latinae, two of them classical.

Descendants
See also fēnum.