Etymology
Onion derives from the Latin "unio," and chive from "cepa" (onion)

Description
A hardy bright green plant which grows like a delicate, hollow, fleshy herb. Its bulb is white, long and pear-shaped.

The green onion, known as "cébette" in Provence (a name used by 16th century French poet François Villon), and "cive" in Picardy, is often mistakenly referred to a shallot in both French and English. Larger than the chive, green onions or scallions (or spring onions to the British) look, appropriately enough, like… small green onions! In the Villis capitular of Charlemagne, they are mentioned under the heading "cepa," between coming between garlic and shallots.