onion

Meaning

1. A monocotyledonous plant (Allium cepa), allied to garlic, used as vegetable and spice.
2. The bulb of such a plant.
3. A plant of the genus Allium as a whole.
4. (slang) An ounce.
5. (obsolete,slang) A ball.
6. (obsolete,slang) A watch-seal.
7. Alternative letter-case form of Onion (“an inhabitant of Bermuda; a Bermudian”)

Synonyms

bulb

💡

scallion

garlic

🧄

Allium cepa

shallot

onion bulb

onion plant

gyros

onion leaf

poisonous

chives

bulbous

shallots

spice

wild

Welsh onion

bulbil

pierogi

wild onion

bulb onion

geophyte

green onion

Pronounced as (IPA)

/ˈʌn.jən/

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English: onyoun

Cognate with Middle English: hynne-leac

In summary

From Middle English onyoun, oynoun, from Old French oignon, from Latin ūniōnem, accusative of ūniō (“onion, large pearl”), which had also been borrowed into Old English as yne, ynnelēac (“onion”) (> Middle English hynne-leac, henne-leac). Also displaced Middle English knelek (literally “knee-leek”) and the inherited term ramsons.