spoon

Definition

An implement for eating or serving; a scooped utensil whose long handle is straight, in contrast to a ladle.

Etymology

From Middle English spoon, spoune, spone, spon (“spoon, chip of wood”), from Old English spōn (“sliver, chip of wood, shaving”), from Proto-West Germanic *spānu, from Proto-Germanic *spēnuz (“chip, flake, shaving”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)peH- (“chip, shaving, log, length of wood”). Cognate with Scots spun, spon (“spoon, shingle”), West Frisian spoen (“chip”), Dutch spaan (“chip, flinders”), German Span (“chip, flake, shaving”), Swedish spån (“chip, flake”), Norwegian Nynorsk spon (“chip, spoon”), Faroese spónur (“wood chip; spoon”), Ancient Greek σφήν (sphḗn, “wedge”)(though the connection to the Greek is likely impossible by modern reconstructions of PIE). Eclipsed non-native Middle English cuculer, coclear (“spoon”), from Old English cuculer, cuceler, cucler, borrowed from Latin cochlear (“spoon”). The "metaphoric unit of personal energy" sense was coined by writer and disability advocate Christine Miserandino in 2003 (see spoon theory).

Example Sentences

• "He must have a long spoon that must eat with the devil."
• "While Ms. Fly was with Sharon in the kitchen, Sharon asked the defendant for a “spoon of drugs.” Defendant refused and stated that he did not know where drugs could be obtained."
• "To this class college rowing offers no attractions or place, nor are they generally looked upon by the artists of the "spoons" as a desirable addition […]"