spoon English · revision 15374

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=c. 725|origins=gem-pro *spēnuz}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /spuːn/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|spon]], [[inh|ang|spōn|t=chip, shaving, splinter of wood]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) from [[gem-pro|*spēnuz]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) cognate with [[dum|spaen]], [[goh|spān]] (modern [[m|de|Span|t=shaving]]) and [[non|spánn]], [[m|non|spónn|t=chip, tile, spoon]].^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986)^(Etymonline) It was formerly traced to a PIE root meaning a long flat piece of wood, compared with [[grc|σφήν|tr=sphḗn|t=wedge]].^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ A thin piece of wood, a chip or splinter: about 725 in the OED, before 800 in Barnhart,^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1988) a sense now obsolete.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The eating utensil sense is from the Middle Ages, about 1340 in the OED and about 1350 in Barnhart (implied in spoonful about 1300),^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1988) perhaps because spoons were usually carved out of wood or horn.^(Cresswell 2021) It is specific to English and Scandinavian, and probably taken from Old Norse, where the word also meant spoon.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986)^(NODE 1998) In Middle English it also meant a roofing shingle.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) The proverb about needing a long spoon to sup with the Devil is in Chaucer (about 1386),^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline) and ''born with a silver spoon in one's mouth'' is from at least 1719.^(Etymonline) The verb, to take up with a spoon, is from 1715;^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) to court or flirt sentimentally is by 1831, from spoony, foolish, sentimental,^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986) and to lie close together like stacked spoons by 1870.^(Etymonline) The wooden spoon was first given to the candidate who came last in the Cambridge mathematics examination.^(Cresswell 2021)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 725 – spōn, a chip of wood.^(OED 1989)

+ * c. 1340 – a spoon for eating.^(OED 1989)

+ * c. 1386 – a long spoon to sup with the Devil.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1715 – to spoon (verb).^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)

+ * 1831 – to spoon, flirt.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A utensil with a small shallow bowl on a handle, used for eating, stirring and serving food.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # A shiny curved metal fishing [[lure]].^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # An oar with a curved blade; a golf club, the three wood.^(AHD)

+

+ ===Verb===

+ # To lift or carry with a spoon.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # ''(informal, dated)'' To kiss and cuddle.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # To lie close together, front to back.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[spoonable]]

+ * [[spoonless]]

+ * [[spoonlike]]

+ * [[spoondrift]]

+ * [[spoonworm]]

+ * [[spoonbill]]

+ * [[spoon-feed]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[spoonful]]

+ * [[spoony]]

+ * [[spick and span]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}