# onyx

> English word · Noun · IPA /ˈɒnɪks/ · frequency rank #29,403

## Definitions
1. A banded variety of chalcedony, a cryptocrystalline form of quartz.
2. A jet-black color, named after the gemstone.
3. Any of various lycaenid butterflies of the genus Horaga.

## Etymology
From Middle English onix (c. 1300), earlier oniche (c. 1250), from Old French oniche or onix, from Latin onyx, from Ancient Greek ὄνυξ (ónux, “onyx”). Doublet of unguis.

## Easily confused with
- **ox** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/onyx-vs-ox)
- **oy** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/onyx-vs-oy)
- **on** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/on-vs-onyx)
- **one** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/one-vs-onyx)
- **Ons** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/ons-vs-onyx)
- **ono** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/ono-vs-onyx)
- **ONG** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/ong-vs-onyx)
- **oni** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/oni-vs-onyx)
- **Ona** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/ona-vs-onyx)
- **only** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/only-vs-onyx)
- **once** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/once-vs-onyx)
- **ones** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/ones-vs-onyx)
- **onto** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/onto-vs-onyx)
- **onus** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/onus-vs-onyx)

## Common misspellings (6)
`noyx`, `onnyx`, `onxy`, `onyxx`, `onyyx`, `oynx`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/onyx