Onion Meaning
/ˈʌn.jən/Definition, CEFR level A2, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
Listen pronunciation
Definition
nounA monocotyledonous plant (Allium cepa), allied to garlic, used as vegetable and spice.
nounThe bulb of such a plant.
Sentence Examples
I'll have tomato and onion.
I only need one onion for this recipe.
CEFR Practice Quiz
The recipe called for a ____, which made her cry while cutting it.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
She chopped the ____ finely and added it to the pan with garlic and olive oil.
Word Origin & History
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.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"Some of the weeds that cause an undesirable flavor in milk are: onion, tarweed, scaleweed, garlic, mustard, pepper grass."
— 1944, Oregon. Agricultural experiment station, Circular of Information - Issues 323-395, page 3:
"To get started, how about creating an edible window box? Sowed in the spring, salad seeds like radish, lettuce and spring onion will germinate so quickly that you'll be harvesting a crop in a month or two."
— 2021, Rose Ray, Caro Langton, Into Green: Everyday Ways to Find and Lose Yourself in Nature, page 62:
"Among the ancient Greeks, onions are most frequently mentioned as a stimulus to sexual desire."
— 1961, Harry E. Wedeck, Dictionary of Aphrodisiacs, New York: The Citadel Press, page 158:
"Goulash, a local favorite, was brought up-to-date with seared grass-fed rib-eye, stewed cippolini onions and roasted cherry tomatoes."
— 2015 September 4, “In Minnesota’s Iron Range, Midwestern With a Modern Twist”, in The New York Times:
"[…] 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. […]"
— 1846, George William MacArthur Reynolds, The Mysteries of London, page 60:
Explore More A2 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
The recipe called for a ____, which made her cry while cutting it.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
She chopped the ____ finely and added it to the pan with garlic and olive oil.