US /ˈʌn.jɪn/ UK /ˈʌn.jən/
noun Freq #7672

Meanings

  1. 1
    noun

    A round vegetable with a strong smell and taste, made of layers and used in cooking.

    My eyes are stinging from the chopped onions.

  2. 2
    noun

    The plant that produces this vegetable.

    Rows of onions grew along the edge of the garden.

Thesaurus

Synonyms
1 noun · a round vegetable with a... onion plant
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Word family
Forms onions
Derived forms buckyoniongarliononion-skinnedonionedonionizedonionlandonionlessonionlikeonionskinoniontinionionweedonionwood
Related forms chivescallionshallot

Etymology

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). Also displaced Middle English knelek (literally “knee-leek”) and 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.

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