scallion

[ˈskæ.lɪ.ən]

/[ˈskæ.lɪ.ən]/ noun

"scallion" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“scallion” is uncommon English (frequency #89,867 among 6,566 “S” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#89,867
frequency rank, English
6,566
“S” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A spring onion, Allium fistulosum.

Corpus desk

Index EN-scallion · scallion · English

scallion · rank #89,867 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #89,867
  • LEN-LONG 8 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 6,566
  • PHOTO-FINISH Saturnalia

Nearest frequency peer: Saturnalia (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Long-tail ranks near “scallion”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

What this shows Long-tail view: where “scallion” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for scallion
PropertyValue
Headwordscallion
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA[ˈskæ.lɪ.ən]
Letters8
Frequency rank#89,867
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “scallion” in English

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).scallionfalls in this rarity band:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Rare peers in the same band: “Saturnalia” (#89,866), “Sather” (#89,865), “Schiano” (#89,870). Among 6,566 “S” headwords, “scallion” is #89,867. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

scallion is uncommon English at frequency #89,867 among 6,566 “S” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed [ˈskæ.lɪ.ən]. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 4 senses are on record.

The misspelling generator found no plausible variants for scallion, since its letter pattern doesn't lend itself to common typo substitutions. Our dataset records no confusable match here, since nothing in our dataset looks or sounds close enough to cause mix-ups.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English scaloun (“shallot”), from Anglo-Norman scalun (variant of Old French eschaloigne), from a Proto-Romance derivation of Vulgar Latin *escalonia, from Latin Ascalonius (in caepa (“onion”) Ascalonius, "shallot"), from Ascalo (“Ascalon”), fro… The correct English form is scallion, spelled S-C-A-L-L-I-O-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    A spring onion, Allium fistulosum.
  2. 2
    Any of various similar members of the genus Allium.
  3. 3
    Any onion that lacks a fully developed bulb.
  4. 4
    A leek.

Etymology

From Middle English scaloun (“shallot”), from Anglo-Norman scalun (variant of Old French eschaloigne), from a Proto-Romance derivation of Vulgar Latin *escalonia, from Latin Ascalonius (in caepa (“onion”) Ascalonius, "shallot"), from Ascalo (“Ascalon”), from Ancient Greek Ἀσκάλων (Askálōn, “Ascalon, an ancient port city in the Levant”), borrowed from Biblical Hebrew אַשְׁקְלוֹן (ʾašqəlôn).

Synonyms

spring oniongreen onion

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "scallion"?
"scallion" is spelled S-C-A-L-L-I-O-N. The IPA pronunciation is [ˈskæ.lɪ.ən].
What does "scallion" mean?
As a noun, "scallion" means: A spring onion, Allium fistulosum.
How do you pronounce "scallion"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "scallion" is [ˈskæ.lɪ.ən]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "scallion"?
From Middle English scaloun (“shallot”), from Anglo-Norman scalun (variant of Old French eschaloigne), from a Proto-Romance derivation of Vulgar Latin *escalonia, from Latin Ascalonius (in caepa (“onion”) Ascalonius, "shallot"), from Ascalo (“Asca... See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "scallion", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 8 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list