spoon

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See also: Spoon

English[edit]

English Wikipedia has an article on:
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A table spoon
A fishing spoon
A hand grenade with spoon (lever) at right

Pronunciation[edit]

Etymology 1[edit]

From Middle English spoon, spoune, spone, spon (“spoon, chip of wood”), from Old English spōn (“sliver, chip of wood, shaving”), from Proto-Germanic *spēnuz (“chip, flake, shaving”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)peh₂- (“chip, shaving, log, length of wood”). Cognate with Scots spun, spon (“spoon, shingle”), Saterland Frisian Spoune (“chip; flake; splinter”), West Frisian spoen, Dutch spaan (“chip, flinders”), German Low German Spoon (“thin piece of wood, shaving”), German Span (“chip, flake, shaving”), Swedish spån (“chip, cutting”), Norwegian spon (“chip”), Faroese spónur (“wood chip; spoon”), Icelandic spánn, spónn, Ancient Greek σφήν (sphḗn, “wedge”). Eclipsed non-native Middle English cuculer and Middle English cuclear (“spoon”) both ultimately borrowed from the Latin.

Noun[edit]

spoon (plural spoons)

  1. An implement for eating or serving; a scooped utensil whose long handle is straight, in contrast to a ladle.
  2. An implement for stirring food while being prepared; a wooden spoon.
  3. A measure that will fit into a spoon; a spoonful.
  4. (golf, archaic) A wooden-headed golf club with moderate loft, similar to the modern three wood.
  5. (slang) An oar.
    • 1877, The Country (volumes 1-2, page 339)
      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 […]
  6. (fishing) A type of metal lure resembling the concave head of a tablespoon.
  7. (dentistry, informal) A spoon excavator.
  8. (figuratively, slang, archaic) A simpleton, a spooney.
    (Can we find and add a quotation of Hood to this entry?)
  9. (US, military) A safety handle on a hand grenade, a trigger.
  10. (slang) A metaphoric unit of energy available to cope with problems.
    • 2015, Jenny Lawson, Furiously Happy:
      You work, and play, and clean, and love, and hate, and that's lots of damn spoons . . . but if you are young and healthy you still have spoons left over as you fall asleep and wait for the new supply of spoons to be delivered in the morning.
    • 2016, Tymber Dalton, Two Against Nature, page 86:
      Once you're out of spoons for the day, that's it, no more energy. So when you get down to your last couple of spoons for the day, you have to decide, what's the priority?
    • 2018, Donna Alward, ‎Nancy Cassidy, Adulting 101: Writing Through Life and Other Adventures:
      But if you're running low on spoons, take some time out to recharge.
    • 2018, Dennis J. DeWitt, Zoe Died. What Now?:
      He has frequent dizzy spells. His friend has Asperger syndrome. Both relate and support each other when they have run out of spoons.
Derived terms[edit]
Terms derived from spoon (noun)
Translations[edit]
measure that will fit into a spoon — see spoonful

Verb[edit]

spoon (third-person singular simple present spoons, present participle spooning, simple past and past participle spooned)

  1. To serve using a spoon; to transfer (something) with a spoon.
    Sarah spooned some apple sauce onto her plate.
    • 1958, Anthony Burgess, The Enemy in the Blanket (The Malayan Trilogy), published 1972, page 365:
      Talbot champed away, finally spooning in resignation with the tinned fruit salad, calm of mind reached with the last piece of cheese, all passion spent in the third drained coffee-cup.
  2. (intransitive, dated) To flirt; to make advances; to court, to interact romantically or amorously.
  3. (transitive or intransitive, informal, of persons) To lie nestled front-to-back, following the contours of the bodies, in a manner reminiscent of stacked spoons.
  4. (tennis, golf, croquet) To hit (the ball) weakly, pushing it with a lifting motion, instead of striking with an audible knock.
    • 2012 June 28, Jamie Jackson, “Wimbledon 2012: Lukas Rosol shocked by miracle win over Rafael Nadal”, in the Guardian‎[1]:
      Rosol spurned the chance to finish off a shallow second serve by spooning into the net, and a wild forehand took the set to 5-4, with the native of Prerov required to hold his serve for victory.
  5. (intransitive) To fish with a concave spoon bait.
  6. (transitive) To catch by fishing with a concave spoon bait.
    • (Can we date this quote by Mrs. Humphry Ward and provide title, author's full name, and other details?)
      He had with him all the tackle necessary for spooning pike.
Derived terms[edit]
Translations[edit]
to flirt — see flirt

See also[edit]

Etymology 2[edit]

Origin uncertain. Compare spoom.

Verb[edit]

spoon (third-person singular simple present spoons, present participle spooning, simple past and past participle spooned)

  1. Alternative form of spoom
    • (Can we date this quote by Samuel Pepys and provide title, author's full name, and other details?)
      We might have spooned before the wind as well as they.
Derived terms[edit]
Translations[edit]

Anagrams[edit]

Middle English[edit]

Noun[edit]

spoon

  1. Alternative form of spone
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