onion butter

2.7

Soft butter mixed with small pieces of onion used to add flavor to food

noun

: mantequilla de cebolla

She spread onion butter on the freshly baked bread for extra flavor.

Examples

The steak was topped with a dollop of onion butter before serving.
I love onion butter on my toast.
For the sauce, melt some onion butter over low heat and stir in herbs.
Have you tried onion butter with your steak?
She spread onion butter on the freshly baked bread for extra flavor.
The steak was topped with a dollop of onion butter before serving.
For the sauce, melt some onion butter over low heat and stir in herbs.

How Onion-Flavored

onion butter

2.7

anchovy butter

4.5

Surface Forms

onion butter singular

onion butters plural

Morphology

onion + butter

The meaning is directly and transparently derived from combining 'onion' and 'butter' — a typical noun+noun food compound meaning butter flavored with or containing onion used as a spread. This compositional pattern is common across languages and follows straightforward English compounding, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents would readily infer the MWE's meaning.

Etymology

Onion butter comes from a simple kitchen idea: cooks mix chopped onion into soft butter to make a tasty spread. This mix adds flavor to bread, meat, and sauces, so today onion butter means 'butter blended with minced onion' used as a spread or flavoring.