onion Hear it!

onion definition

on·ion (un′yən)

noun

  1. a plant (Allium cepa) of the lily family, having an edible bulb with a strong, sharp smell and taste
  2. the bulb of this plant, formed of close, concentric layers of leaf bases
  3. any of various related plants

Etymology: ME oynon < OFr oignon < L unio (gen. unionis), oneness, unity, also a kind of single onion: see union

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2009 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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