this post was submitted on 09 Mar 2024
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Actually the name "onion" is derived from the Latin word for one because, I've always assumed, it's the number one vegetable.
That's not true at all, though... Also, "onion" in latin is "cepa".
https://www.etymonline.com/word/onion#etymonline_v_7030 "and directly from Latin unionem (nominative unio), a colloquial rustic Roman word for a kind of onion, also "pearl" (via the notion of a string of onions), literally "one, unity." "
https://www.oed.com/dictionary/onion_n1?tab=etymology#33571712 "< classical Latin ūniōn-, ūniō a large single pearl, also a rustic Roman name for a single onion (see below) < ūnus one (see one adj.) + ‑iō ‑ion suffix1. "
https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/onion "C14: via Anglo-Norman from Old French oignon, from Latin unio onion, related to union"
Don't know what else to tell you! You could've just looked it up!
I did. I also happen to speak multiple romance languages – you know, the ones that are pretty much just Latin with a thick accent. That etymology is bad. Don't trust everything you read on the internet just because it's on the internet.
Also, are you aware that the Romans didn't largely differentiate between cepa and aglio, i.e. onions and garlic-like plants?
Me too! I didn't even say the usual Latin word isn't cepa, in fact one of my sources says that in plain terms. Maybe improve your English reading comprehension since you're so proud of your polyglotism.
I understand doubting etymonline.com but the OED and Collins Dictionaries are authoritative sources written by lexicographers. You know, people who dedicate their working lives to the meanings and origins of words. Wind your neck in, you arrogant milksop.
Which means jack shit, especially when it comes to an anglophone source. Anglophones can't even decide which sets of symbols represent which phonemes.
I think you're confusing the reputation of the average anglophone as monolingual with the quite storied reputation of English lexicographers. Your mouth is much bigger than what's behind it.
No, I'm not. Open ten english dictionaries and you'll find ten different schools of thought.
So if I open ten English dictionaries and they all agree that "onion" comes from the Latin "unionem" via the Old French "oignon", will you promise to stop dying on this hill? Given that I've already shown you three that agree on that very thing? How confident are you feeling? Actually now that I think, you said you'd looked it up but you've nothing yet to show for it, so what's your source?