the.com/onion ring

means A ring-shaped slice of onion coated in batter or breading and deep-fried until crisp.

from Straightforward compound of 'onion' (from Latin 'unio,' meaning a single large pearl or unity — the same root, charmingly, as the gem — likely applied to the onion for its layered, single-bulb form) plus 'ring,' describing the shape left when a sliced cross-section of onion is battered and fried. Fried battered onion slices appear in American cookbooks and menus from the early 20th century onward, though no single inventor or date is reliably documented — the dish seems to have emerged gradually alongside the broader rise of deep-fried diner and drive-in fare.