King James Bible Dictionary

(Heb. kammon; i.e., a "condiment"), the fruit or seed of an umbelliferous plant, the Cuminum sativum, still extensively cultivated in the East. Its fruit is mentioned in Isaiah 28:25, 27. In the New Testament it is mentioned in Matthew 23:23, where our Lord pronounces a "woe" on the scribes and Pharisees, who were zealous in paying tithes of "mint and anise and cummin," while they omitted the weightier matters of the law." "It is used as a spice, both bruised, to mix with bread, and also boiled, in the various messes and stews which compose an Oriental banquet." Tristram, Natural History.

A plant bearing a small aromatic seed.
Isaiah 28:25; Isaiah 28:27; Matthew 23:23

one of the cultivated plants of Palestine. (Isaiah 28:25,27; Matthew 23:23) It is an umbelliferous plant something like fennel. The seeds have a bitterish warm taste and an aromatic flavor. The Maltese are said to grow it at the present day, and to thresh it in the manner described by Isaiah.