onion (English)

Where does "onion" come from?

The English word onion traces its roots through Middle English 'onyoun' and Old French 'oignon' back to the Latin accusative 'ūniōnem'[1][2][3]. The Latin term itself continues from Proto-Italic 'uznjō', which stems from a Proto-Indo-European form meaning 'garlic, onion'[4]. This ancient lineage connects to cognates across various language families, including Sanskrit 'uṣṇa' and Hittite 'wašḫar'[4]. An early borrowing of the Latin term also appeared in Old English as 'yne' and 'ynnelēac'[1].

Open questions

The Proto-Indo-European root is derived from an unknown base root combined with a suffix. [5]

Full etymology tree

onion (English), 'A monocotyledonous plant (Allium cepa), allied to garlic, used as vegetable and spice.'
- borrowed onyoun (Middle English), 'The onion plant (Allium cepa).'
  - borrowed oignon (Old French), 'onion (Allium cepa)'
    - inherited unionem (Latin), 'accusative singular of ūniō'
      - derived unio (Latin), 'a kind of onion'
        inherited *uznjō (Proto-Italic)
        inherited *wósh₂r̥ (Proto-Indo-European), 'garlic, onion (genus Allium)'
        derived *wesh₂- (Proto-Indo-European)
        suffix *-r̥ (Proto-Indo-European), 'Derives nouns from roots, frequently mass nouns.'

Ancestors

onyoun (Middle English)
oignon (Old French)
unionem (Latin)

Descendants and derived words

anian (Bislama)
ball-head onion (English)
Bermuda onion (English)
blooming onion (English)
Bristol onion (English)
brown onion (English)
bucky onion (English)
buckyonion (English)
bulge in the onion bag (English)
bulge the onion bag (English)
Canada onion (English)
Chinese onion (English)

Sources

Updated September 2026

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Etymology data from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · About Miraris