onionskin

/ˈən-yən-ˌskin/ (ame, mw)

onionskin — noun

1. a very thin, strong, slightly see-through paper, light enough that you can read

1.名詞C2
釋義

a very thin, strong, slightly see-through paper, light enough that you can read writing on the page beneath it, used in the past mainly for typewriter carbon copies and airmail letters.

例句

Esteban typed his airmail letters on onionskin so the postage would stay cheap.

typical context: airmail and lightweight correspondence

The lawyer kept a stack of onionskin in the drawer for carbon copies of every contract.

collocation: stack of onionskin / carbon copies

同義詞
  • tissue paper

    broader term; tissue paper is softer and used for wrapping, while onionskin is firm enough to write or type on.

  • airmail paper

    near-synonym for the specific lightweight letter-writing use case; airmail paper is sometimes pre-folded as an aerogram.

  • India paper

    another very thin printing paper; India paper is mostly used for Bibles and dictionaries, while onionskin was for office copies.

反義詞
  • cardstock

    thick, stiff paper used for covers and cards — the opposite weight and feel.

  • cardboard

文法句型

uncountable noun

用法筆記

Uncountable; refers to the paper as a material, not individual sheets — say 'a sheet of onionskin' rather than 'an onionskin'. Almost always paired with historical contexts (typewriters, carbon copies, airmail) since lightweight digital alternatives have replaced it.

常見錯誤

❌She bought three onionskins from the stationery shop.
✅She bought three sheets of onionskin from the stationery shop.
💡onionskin is uncountable; count it with 'sheet of'.
❌The onionskin paper is from an onion.
✅Onionskin is named after the dry outer layer of an onion because of how thin it looks.
💡the name is a comparison, not an ingredient.