sea onion

3 definitions found

sea onion - Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 :

  Sea onion \Sea" on"ion\ (Bot.)
     The officinal squill. See Squill.
     [1913 Webster]

  Squill \Squill\ (skw[i^]l), n. [F. squille (also scille a
     squill, in sense 1), L. squilla, scilla, Gr. ?.]
     1. (Bot.)
        (a) A European bulbous liliaceous plant (Urginea  maritima
            , formerly Scilla maritima), of acrid,
            expectorant, diuretic, and emetic properties, used in
            medicine. Called also sea onion.
        (b) Any bulbous plant of the genus Scilla; as, the
            bluebell squill (Scilla mutans).
            [1913 Webster]
  
     2. (Zool.)
        (a) A squilla.
        (b) A mantis.
            [1913 Webster]

sea onion - WordNet (r) 2.1 (2005) :

  sea onion
      n 1: having dense spikes of small white flowers and yielding a
           bulb with medicinal properties [syn: sea squill, sea onion
           , squill, Urginea maritima]
      2: European scilla with small blue or purple flowers [syn:
         spring squill, Scilla verna, sea onion]