Category:Onion

On"ion, n. Etym: [f. ognon, fr. L. unio oneness, unity, a single Large pearl, an onion. See one, union.] (bot.)

Defn: a liliaceous plant of the genus allium (a.cepa), having a Strong-flavored bulb and long hollow leaves; also, its bulbous root, Much used as an article of food. The name is often extended to other Species of the genus. Onion fish (zoöl.), the grenadier. -- onion fly (zoöl.) a dipterous insect whose larva feeds upon the Onion; especially, anthomyia ceparum and ortalis flexa. -- welsh onion. (bot.) See cibol. -- wild onion (bot.), a name given to several species of the genus Allium.

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---excerpt from the Illustrated Bible Dictionary

Onion - The Israelites in the wilderness longed for the "onions and garlic of Egypt" (Numbers 11:5). This was the betsel of the Hebrews, the Allium cepe of botanists, of which it is said that there are some thirty or forty species now growing in Palestine. The onion is "the 'undivided' leek, unio, unus , one."