[2] It is native to North Africa, Iran, and the Arabian Peninsula;[3] it is grown widely in Eurasia, where its leaves and seeds are used as a herb or spice for flavouring food.

The word dill and its close relatives are found in most of the Germanic languages; its ultimate origin is unknown.

[4] The genus name Anethum is the Latin form of Greek ἄνῑσον / ἄνησον / ἄνηθον / ἄνητον, which meant both "dill"[5] and "anise".

Successful cultivation requires warm to hot summers with high sunshine levels; even partial shade will reduce the yield substantially.

[10] These plants, like their fennel and parsley relatives, often are eaten by black swallowtail caterpillars in areas where that species occurs.

[13] In Greek mythology, the dill was originally a young man named Anethus who was transformed into the plant.

[23] In central and eastern Europe, the Nordic countries, the Baltic states, Ukraine, and Russia, dill is a staple culinary herb along with chives and parsley.

It also is popular in summer to drink fermented milk (curds, kefir, yogurt, or buttermilk) mixed with dill (and sometimes other herbs).

[25] In Polish cuisine, fresh dill leaves mixed with sour cream are the basis for dressings.

In Germany, dill is popular as a seasoning for fish and many other dishes, chopped as a garnish on potatoes, and as a flavouring in pickles.

In Bulgaria dill is widely used in traditional vegetable salads, and most notably the yogurt-based cold soup Tarator.

In Romania dill (mărar) is widely used as an ingredient for soups such as 'borş' (pronounced "borsh"), pickles, and other dishes, especially those based on peas, beans, and cabbage.

In Santa Maria, Azores, dill (endro) is the most important ingredient of the traditional Holy Ghost soup (sopa do Espírito Santo).

After a month or two of fermentation, the cucumber pickles are ready to eat, for instance, with pork, brown sauce, and potatoes, as a sweetener.

The dish commonly contains pieces of veal or lamb that are boiled until tender and then served together with a vinegary dill sauce.

However, the use of dill in Finland is not as extensive as in large parts of central and eastern Europe, particularly Russia but including even the ethnolinguistically close Estonia.

In India, dill is known as 'Sholpa' in Bengali, shepu (शेपू) in Marathi, sheppi (शेप्पी) in Konkani, savaa in Hindi, or soa in Punjabi.

In Manipur, dill, locally known as pakhon, is an essential ingredient of chagem pomba – a traditional Manipuri dish made with fermented soybean and rice.

In Northern China, Beijing, Inner-Mongolia, Ningxia, Gansu, and Xinjiang, dill seeds commonly are called 'zīrán' (孜然), but also 'kūmíng' (枯茗), 'kūmíngzi' (枯茗子), 'shíluózi' (莳萝子/蒔蘿子), 'xiǎohuíxiāngzi' (小茴香子) and are used with pepper for lamb meat.

In the whole of China, 'yángchuàn' (羊串) or 'yángròu chuàn' (羊肉串), lamb brochette, a speciality from Uyghurs, uses cumin and pepper.

In Arab countries, dill seed, called ain jaradeh (grasshopper's eye), is used as a spice in cold dishes such as 'fattoush' and pickles.

When used as a companion plant, dill attracts many beneficial insects as the umbrella flower heads go to seed.

Tomato plants benefit from dill when it is young because it repels harmful pests while attracting pollinators.