Monier-Williams: A Sanskrit-English Dictionary (p. 832)
methī, f. Trigonella Foenum Graecum, Pañcad.

Monier-Williams: A Sanskrit-English Dictionary (p. 832)
methikā, f. Trigonella Foenum Graecum, L.

Monier-Williams: A Sanskrit-English Dictionary (p. 832)
methinī, f. Trigonella Foenum Graecum, L.

Tamil Lexicon, University of Madras (p. 3783)
ventayam: 1. Fenugreek, s. sh., Trigonella faenum-graecum; 2. Fenugreek-seed

Dymock, Warden, Hooper: Pharmacographia Indica (vol. I, pp. 401-403)
Trigonella Foenum-Graecum, Leguminosae
Fenugreek has a history of great antiquity; it was much valued by the ancients both as a food and medicine; in India it has long been extensively cultivated, its seeds being considered carminative, tonic, and aphrodisiac. Several confections made with them are described in Sanskrit works under the names of Methi modaka, Svalpa methi modaka, &c., and are recommended for use in dyspepsia with loss of appetite, in the diarrhoea of puerperal women, and in rheumatism. All these preparations consist of a number of aromatic substances, one part each, and fenugreek seeds equal in quantity to all the other ingredients. Under the Arababic name of Hulbah, and the Persian Shamlit, Mahometan writers describe the plant and seeds as hot and dry, suppurative, aperient, diuretic, emmenagogue, useful in dropsy, chronic cough, and enlargements of the spleen and liver. A poultice of the leaves is said to be of use in external and internal swellings and burns, and to prevent the hair falling off. The flour of the seeds is used as a poultice, and is applied to the skin as a cosmetic. They also use the oil of the seeds for various purposes. In Europe the history of the plant is equally ancient. Aretaeus prescribed it both internally and externally. The powder of the seeds was recommended by Dioscorides in the form of a poultice for inflammatory affections. /It is the -*- of Dioscorides (ii., 93). Other Greek names are -*- (oxhorn) and -*- (goatshorn)./ Pliny (24, 120) mentions the use of Fenugreek or Silicia as a medicine, and ascribes to it the same properties as the Mahometan writers above quoted. Ainslie notices its uses by native practitioners in Southern India for dysentery, the seeds being toasted and afterwards infused. At the present time, Fenugreek is extensively used in India both as an article of diet and as a medicine. The leaves are used both internally and externally on account of their cooling properties. The young plants are always to be found in the vegetable markets, and are most esteemed when only the two seed leaves are formed; they are boiled and afterwards fried in butter, the taste is strongly bitter, and disagreeable to those who have not become accustomed to it; in bilious states of the system the vegetable has an aperient action. The seeds enter into the compostition of an imitation of carmine. The yellow decoction used with sulphate of copper produces a fine permanent green. In modern medicine Fenugreek is no longer in use; it is, however, still kept by druggists for veterinary pharmacy, and is very largely consumed in the preparation of cattle food.