Etymograph

English

onion

Onion comes from Middle English onyoun ‘the onion plant (Allium cepa)’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *wósh₂r̥.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*wósh₂r̥‘garlic, onion’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*uznjōreconstructed
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEūniō
  4. Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEūniōnemaccusative of ūniō
  5. Old Frenchc. 842–1400oignon‘onion (Allium cepa)’
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500onyoun‘the onion plant (Allium cepa)’
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1846onion

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*wósh₂r̥‘garlic, onion’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*uznjōreconstructed
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEūniō
  4. Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEūniōnemaccusative of ūniō
  5. Old Frenchc. 842–1400oignon‘onion (Allium cepa)’
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500onyoun‘the onion plant (Allium cepa)’
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1846onion

Earliest quotation: 1846, George William MacArthur Reynolds, The Mysteries of London: “[…] M was a Magsman, frequenting Pall-Mall; / N…”

Linked words

through Latin ūniō

union, unite, 2 more

Today it means

noun A monocotyledonous plant (Allium cepa), allied to garlic, used as vegetable and spice.

Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *wósh₂r̥ / onion

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