onion
English · Thesaurus
AI In plain words
Writing a short explanation…
Written by a house AI from the entry below, in your language. The entry itself is the source.
onion¹
- /ˈʌnjən/ UK
- /ˈʌnj(ə)n/ US
- /ˈʌnjɪn/ Canada
- /ˈʌŋjɪn/ Canada, nonstandard
- /ˈɐnjən/ Australia, New Zealand
- /ˈɐŋjən/ Australia, New Zealand, nonstandard
- /ˈɔnɪjən/ South Asia
- /ˈɪŋ.ən/ dialectal, obsolete
- /ˈɪn.jən/ dialectal, obsolete
Rhymes with -ʌnjən
Where it comes from
From Middle English onyoun, oynoun, from Old French oignon, from Latin ūniōnem, accusative of ūniō (“onion”), which had also been borrowed into Old English as yne, ynnelēac (“onion”) (> Middle English hynne-leac, henne-leac). Displaced the inherited term ramsons.
* (soy): Stems from a 4chan word filter which changes the word soy to onions. The word filter was implemented in relation to the "alpha onion eater" meme, which is depicted as the direct opposite of the soy boy.
noun onions · onyon
- A monocotyledonous plant (Allium cepa), allied to garlic, used as vegetable and spice. Some of the weeds that cause an undesirable flavor in milk are: onion, tarweed, scaleweed, garlic, mustard, pepper grass.
- The bulb of such a plant. My eyes are stinging from the chopped onions.
- Any of various plants, mostly of the genus Allium, that are more or less similar to Allium cepa. Many onions are delicious; domesticated onions such as Allium cepa and Allium fistulosum are especially good, but even wild onions such as Allium canadense and Allium validum are nice in small doses.
- Of a drug, an ounce.
- A ball.
- A watch-seal. […] M was a Magsman, frequenting Pall-Mall; / N was a Nose that turned chirp on his pal; / O was an Onion, possessed by a swell; / P was a Pannie, done niblike and well. […]
- Alternative letter-case form of Onion (“an inhabitant of Bermuda; a Bermudian”).
- Soy, particularly when used in compound words related to the soy boy stereotype.
- Ellipsis of flaming onion; anti-aircraft fire. Plenty kites came over after dark – we stood outside and watched flares, bombs, ack-ack, and onions on the third escarpment.
Similar: violet
Onion²
Where it comes from
In reference to the large quantities of onions grown on Bermuda.
noun Onions · onion
- An inhabitant of Bermuda; a Bermudian.
Thesaurus
Closest in meaning: allium cepa, onion plant, cream, business, shallot, scallion, green onion, spring onion, allium, bulb, spanish onion, red onion, vidalia, white onion, chive, leek
noun
Similar: violet
Translations
Every language
noun Allium cepa
| Español | cebolla |
|---|---|
| 한국어 | 양파 yangpa |
| 日本語 | 玉葱 tamanegi |
| 中文 | 洋蔥 /洋葱 yángcōng |
| हिन्दी | पियाज़ piyāz, प्याज़ pyāz, कांदा kāndā |
| Kiswahili | kitunguu |
| Português | cebola |
| Français | oignon, ognon |
| Deutsch | Zwiebel |
| Italiano | cipolla |
| Ελληνικά | κρεμμύδι kremmýdi |
| Română | ceapă |
| Русский | лук luk |
| Tiếng Việt | hành tây, hành |
| العربية | بَصَل baṣal |
| עברית | בָּצָל batsál |
noun bulb
| Español | cebolla |
|---|---|
| 日本語 | オニオン onion |
| 中文 | 洋蔥 /洋葱 yángcōng, 蔥頭 /葱头 cōngtóu, 洋蔥頭 /洋葱头 yángcōngtóu |
| Kiswahili | kitunguu |
| Português | cebola |
| Italiano | cipolla |
| Ελληνικά | κρεμμύδι kremmýdi |
| Română | ceapă |
| Русский | лу́ковица lúkovica, голо́вка golóvka |
| עברית | בָּצָל batsál |
noun genus
| 日本語 | ネギ属 negizoku |
|---|
Talk about this word "onion." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/onion. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. onion. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/onion "onion." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/onion.Cite this
@misc{onion_2026,
title = {onion},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/onion},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
