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Glite Dictionary
🔵 A blue flower ⚪ A white bulb plant
sea onion

sea onion

9.9
A small European plant with blue or purple flowers grown in gardens
  • noun
  • UK
translation icon : cebolla de mar
  • The sea onion blooms in early spring, producing clusters of delicate blue flowers.

Examples

  • Gardeners often plant sea onions for their colorful appearance and easy maintenance.

  • I spotted a wild sea onion growing near the rocky coastline.

  • The sea onion blooms beautifully in the spring.

  • I planted several sea onions in my garden.

  • Gardeners often plant sea onions for their colorful appearance and easy maintenance.

  • The sea onion blooms in early spring, producing clusters of delicate blue flowers.

  • I spotted a wild sea onion growing near the rocky coastline.

Synonyms

Scilla verna
vssea onion
  • Specialized
9.9

A small European plant with narrow leaves and blue star shaped flowers that blooms in early spring

is the informal garden name used instead of the Latin term
spring squill
vssea onion
  • UK
9.9

A small plant by the sea with blue or purple flowers in spring

is the scientific botanical name used in formal classification

Surface Forms

sea onion singular
sea onions plural

Morphology

sea + onion

The meaning — a bulbous plant associated with the sea — is directly and compositionally derivable from 'sea' (relating to the sea) + 'onion' (a bulbous plant), so a B1 learner who knows both words can reasonably infer it denotes an onion-like plant found by/ in the sea. This noun+noun compound is a common, productive pattern cross-linguistically, making the name transparent rather than idiomatic or metaphorically shifted.

Etymology

Sea onion comes from the plant's round underground onion-like 'bulb' that often grows by the sea, and its small blue or purple flowers make it a popular garden plant. So, the simple picture of an onion by the sea helps explain the name for this ornamental plant.