Onion
nounEtymology In reference to the large quantities of onions grown on Bermuda.
1
Slang An inhabitant of Bermuda; a Bermudian.
onion
nounalso spelled OnionUS, UK /ˈʌn.jən/ · /ˈɪŋ.ən/
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). 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.
8 senses
1
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.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:
2
The bulb of such a plant.
- My eyes are stinging from the chopped onions.
- 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:
2 more examples
- dorrẹ̅, dōrī adj. & n. […] cook. glazed with a yellow substance; pome(s ~, sopes ~. […] 1381 Pegge Cook. Recipes p. 114: For to make Soupys dorry. Nym onyons […] Nym wyn […] toste wyte bred and do yt in dischis, and god Almande mylk.1962 (quoting 1381 text), Hans Kurath & Sherman M. Kuhn, eds., Middle English Dictionary, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan Press, ISBN 978-0-472-01044-8, page 1242
- 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:
3
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.
4
Slang Of a drug, an ounce.
- […] 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:
7
Alternative letter-case form of Onion (“an inhabitant of Bermuda; a Bermudian”).
8
Slang Soy, particularly when used in compound words related to the soy boy stereotype.
- Synonyms
- violet
- Derived terms
158 terms
Altai onion, angled onion, autumn onion, baby onion, ball-head onion, Bangalore rose onion, Bermuda onion, blooming onion, bog onion, Bristol onion, brown onion, bucky onion, buckyonion, bulb onion, bulge in the onion bag, bulge the onion bag, bunching onion, button onion, Canada onion, Cape poison onion, Catawissa onion, Chinese onion, cipolline onion, climbing onion, coast flatleaf onion, cocktail onion, common onion, crow onion, desert onion, dry onion, eat the onion, Egyptian onion, flaming onion, flowering onion, French onion soup, garlion, giant onion, glass onion, green onion, gypsy onion, Hooker's onion (Allium acuminatum, is someone cutting onions, Japanese bunching onion, jeweled onion, know one's onions, long green onion, long onion, long-root onion, long-stamen onion, Maori onion, multiplier onion, Naples onion, nodding onion, off one's onion, one-leaf onion, onion asphodel, onion bag, onion bamboo, onion booty, onion bottle, onion bread, onion couch, onion dome, onion downy mildew, onioned, onion eelworm, onion fish, onion flute, onion fly, onion grass, oniongrass), onionin A, onionized, onion Johnny, Onionland, onion-leafed asphodel, onionless, onionlike, onion louse, onion maggot, onion mildew, onion network, onion paper, onion peel, onion powdery mildew, onion red, onion ring, onion roll, onion root twitch, onion router, onion routing, onion scab, onion seed, onion service, onion-skinned, onion skinning, onion skin, onionskin, onion smudge, onion smut, onion snow, onion squash, onion stick, onion straw, onion thrips, oniontini, onion twitch, onion volcano, onionweed, onion weed, onionwood, oniony, Onion yellow dwarf virus, oriental onion, Pacific onion, Pacific mountain onion, pearl onion, peel back the onion, peel the onion, perennial onion, pom-pom onion, potato onion, prairie onion, purple onion, quantum onion, red onion, red-skinned onion, redskin onion, salad onion, scytheleaf onion, sea onion, serrated onion, shore onion, Siberian onion, silverskin onion, Spanish onion, spring onion, spunion, swamp onion, sweet onion, table onion, take out an onion, tapertip onion, top onion, topset onion, tree onion, triploid onion, Turkestan onion, twincrest onion, Vidalia onion, Wakegi onion, walking onion, Welsh onion, white onion, wild onion, winter onion, yard onion, yellow onion