onion

onion

1. an alliaceous plant, Allium cepa, having greenish-white flowers: cultivated for its rounded edible bulb

2. the bulb of this plant, consisting of concentric layers of white succulent leaf bases with a pungent odour and taste

3. any of several related plants similar to A. cepa, such as A. fistulosum (Welsh onion)

Collins Discovery Encyclopedia, 1st edition © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

onion

[′ən·yən]

(botany)

Allium cepa. A biennial plant in the order Liliales cultivated for its edible bulb.

Any plant of the genus Allium.

McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific & Technical Terms, 6E, Copyright © 2003 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.