scallion

[skal-yuh n]

noun

any onion that does not form a large bulb; green onion.
a shallot.
a leek.

Origin of scallion

1300–50; late Middle English scalyon(e) < Old French *escaloigne < Vulgar Latin *escalonia, variant of Latin Ascalōnia (caepa) onion of Ascalon, a seaport of Palestine; replacing Middle English scalone, scaloun < Anglo-French scaloun < Vulgar Latin, as above

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Examples from the Web for scallion

Contemporary Examples of scallion

In large salad bowl, combine greens, scallion, and radish; dress with remaining vinaigrette and season with salt and pepper, toss.
Fresh Picks
Alfred Portale
August 31, 2011

British Dictionary definitions for scallion

scallion

noun

any of various onions or similar plants, such as the spring onion, that have a small bulb and long leaves and are eaten in saladsAlso called: green onion

Word Origin for scallion

C14: from Anglo-French scalun, from Latin Ascalōnia (caepa) Ascalonian (onion), from Ascalo Ascalon, a Palestinian port

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for scallion

late 14c., scalun "kind of onion," also "thing of little value," from Anglo-French escalone, Old North French escalogne, or Old French eschaloigne, all from Vulgar Latin *escalonia, from Latin (cæpa) Ascalonia "(onion) from Ascalon," seaport in southwestern Levant (modern Ashkelon in Israel). Cognate with shallot.