Dill derives from the Old Norse word dilla meaning soothe, calm or lull.

Indigenous to the Mediterranean region, southern Russia, central and southern Asia, the herb is now cultivated throughout Europe and North and South America. The plant is an aromatic annual, growing to thirty inches, with an erect hollow stem, feathery leaves, and numerous yellow flowers in umbels. The fruit, or seeds, are lightweight and pungent. The leaves are harvested as a culinary herb in spring and summer, while the seeds are collected, when ripe, in late summer.

Dill is an ancient Egyptian remedy described in the Ebers papyrus (c. 1500 BCE), as an ingredient in a pain-killing mixture.

The ancient Greeks are believed to have covered their eyes with fronds of the herb to induce sleep.

Considered by the Romans to be a sign of luck and by the ancient Greeks a sign of wealth, dill was also used by the ancients as protection against witchcraft and as a love potion ingredient.

Dill continued to be used as a charm against witchcraft in the Middle Ages and was burned to clear thunderclouds.

It was believed that the dried seed heads hung in the home, over doorways, and above cradles symbolised love and provided protection.