Hypertext Webster Gateway: "onion"
From Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary (easton)
Onion
The Israelites in the wilderness longed for the "onions and
garlick of Egypt" (Num. 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."
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
Onion \On"ion\, n. [F. ognon, fr. L. unio oneness, unity, a
single large pearl, an onion. See {One}, {Union}.] (Bot.)
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} (Zo["o]l.), the grenadier.
{Onion fly} (Zo["o]l.) 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}.
From WordNet (r) 1.7 (wn)
onion
n 1: edible bulb of an onion plant
2: bulbous plant having hollow leaves cultivated worldwide for
its rounded edible bulb [syn: {onion plant}, {Allium cepa}]
3: pungent bulb
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