bunion

B3U1N1I1O1N1
/ˈbʌnjən/

noun

A bump or bulge on the first joint of the big toe caused by the swelling of a sac of fluid under the skin.

OriginMiddle English bony ← Italian bubbone ← Lombard bugnon →
UncommonScrabble 8
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Meanings

nounbunion (plural bunions)

plural bunions · alternative bunyon · alternative bunian · alternative bunnion · alternative bunnian

  1. medicineA bump or bulge on the first joint of the big toe caused by the swelling of a sac of fluid under the skin.
  2. broadlycolloquialHallux valgus, deviation of the big toe from its normal position towards the other toes, the prime cause for the swelling of its first joint.

Origin

  1. Proto-Indo-European*bʰenǵʰ-“thick, dense, fat”
  2. Proto-Germanic*bungô
  3. Frankish*bungjō“a swelling, lump, bump”
  4. Old Norsebunga“an elevation, bulge”
  5. Old Frenchbugne
  6. Lombardbugnon“bunyon”
  7. Italianbubbone
  8. Middle Englishbony
  9. Englishbunion

From alteration of earlier bunny (“lump, swelling”), from Middle English bony, boni (“bunion, swelling”), perhaps Italian bubbone (augmented form of bugno (“beehive”)), or more likely from Lombard bugnon (“bunyon”), all three from Old French bugne, buigne, bune (“bump, knob, swelling”), from Old Norse bunga (“an elevation, bulge”) or Frankish *bungjō (“a swelling, lump, bump”), both from Proto-Germanic *bungô, *bunkô (“lump, clump, heap, crowd”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰenǵʰ- (“thick, dense, fat”). Cognate with Dutch bonk (“lump, clump”), German Bunge (“swelling, tuber”).

More words from Middle English, Italian, Lombard

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Catalan galindó
  • galindóbump on the big toe
Chinese Mandarin 拇囊炎, 雞眼 /鸡眼
  • 拇囊炎 (mǔnángyán)bump on the big toe
  • 雞眼 /鸡眼 (jīyǎn)bump on the big toe
Czech vbočený palec
  • vbočený palechallux valgus
Dutch hallux valgus, scheefstaande grote teen
  • hallux valgusbump on the big toe
  • scheefstaande grote teenbump on the big toe
Finnish vaivaisenluu, vaivaisenluu
  • vaivaisenluubump on the big toe
  • vaivaisenluuhallux valgus
French oignon
  • oignonbump on the big toe
German Ballenzehe, Schiefzehe
  • Ballenzehebump on the big toe
  • Schiefzehebump on the big toe
  • Hallux Valgushallux valgus
Hungarian bütyök
  • bütyökbump on the big toe
Indonesian bunion
  • bunionbump on the big toe
Irish buinneán
  • buinneánbump on the big toe
Italian alluce valgo
  • alluce valgobump on the big toe
Japanese 外反母趾
  • 外反母趾 (gaihanboshi)bump on the big toe
Polish paluch koślawy, haluks
  • paluch koślawybump on the big toe
  • haluksbump on the big toe
  • halluksbump on the big toe
Portuguese joanete
  • joanetebump on the big toe
Romanian mont
  • montbump on the big toe
Russian бурси́т, ши́шка
  • бурси́т (bursít)bump on the big toe
  • ши́шка (šíška)bump on the big toe
Spanish juanete, adrián
  • juanetebump on the big toe
  • adriánbump on the big toe
  • buniobump on the big toe
Swedish liktorn
  • liktornbump on the big toe
Turkish başparmak çıkıntısı, başparmak çıkıntısı
  • başparmak çıkıntısıbump on the big toe
  • başparmak çıkıntısıhallux valgus
  • bunyonhallux valgus
Welsh chwydd, bynion
  • chwyddbump on the big toe
  • bynionhallux valgus

Rhymes & wordplay

Rhymes with bunion

onionBunyantrunniongrunionronyon
All rhymes →

Sounds the same

Bunyan
Cite this entry
APA

bunion. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/bunion

MLA

“bunion.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/bunion. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “bunion,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/bunion.

Source: bunion on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.