spoon
Part of speech: noun
verb
Morphological type: simple
Topics: ball-games
cricket
dentistry
fishing
games
golf
government
hobbies
lifestyle
medicine
military
politics
sciences
sports
tennis
war
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).
Inflected forms:
form: spoons
pos: noun
tags: plural
form: spoons
pos: verb
tags: present
singular
third-person
form: spooning
pos: verb
tags: participle
present
form: spooned
pos: verb
tags: participle
past
form: spooned
pos: verb
tags: past
Senses:
gloss: An implement for eating or serving; a scooped utensil whose long handle is straight, in contrast to a ladle.
pos: noun
examples: He must have a long spoon that must eat with the devil.
gloss: An implement for stirring food while being prepared; a wooden spoon.
pos: noun
gloss: A measure that will fit into a spoon; a spoonful.
pos: noun
examples: 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.
gloss: A wooden-headed golf club with moderate loft, similar to the modern fairway wood.
pos: noun
tags: archaic
gloss: An oar.
pos: noun
tags: slang
examples: 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 […]
gloss: A type of metal lure resembling the concave head of a tablespoon.
pos: noun
gloss: A spoon excavator.
pos: noun
tags: informal
gloss: A South African shrub of the genus Spatalla.
pos: noun
gloss: A simpleton, a spoony.
pos: noun
tags: archaic
figuratively
slang
examples: To get all the advantages of being with men of this sort, you must know how to draw your inferences and not be a spoon who takes things literally.
gloss: A safety handle on a hand grenade, a trigger.
pos: noun
tags: US
gloss: A metaphoric unit of finite physical and mental energy available for daily activities, especially in the context of living with chronic illness or disability.
pos: noun
tags: slang
examples: We therefore have to meticulously plan out each day with the small amount of spoons we have. Each task will cost us at least one spoon.
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.
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?
But if you're running low on spoons, take some time out to recharge.
He has frequent dizzy spells. His friend has Asperger syndrome. Both relate and support each other when they have run out of spoons.
gloss: To serve using a spoon; to transfer (something) with a spoon.
pos: verb
examples: Sarah spooned some apple sauce onto her plate.
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.
gloss: To flirt; to make advances; to court, to interact romantically or amorously.
pos: verb
tags: dated
intransitive
examples: By the light of the silvery moon, / I want to spoon, / To my honey I'll croon love's tune, […]
Do you think we spoon and do? We only talk.
gloss: To lie nestled front-to-back, following the contours of the bodies, in a manner reminiscent of stacked spoons.
pos: verb
tags: informal
intransitive
transitive
gloss: To lie nestled front-to-back, following the contours of the bodies, in a manner reminiscent of stacked spoons.
pos: verb
tags: broadly
informal
intransitive
transitive
gloss: To hit (the ball) weakly, pushing it with a lifting motion, instead of striking with an audible knock.
pos: verb
examples: Law is in the field; the Criminal at the wicket. If Law makes a mistake—sends down a loose ball or drops a catch—the Criminal scores a little or has another lease of life. But if he makes a mistake—if he lets a straight ball pass or spoons towards a steady man—he is done for.
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.
gloss: To fish with a concave spoon bait.
pos: verb
tags: intransitive
gloss: To catch by fishing with a concave spoon bait.
pos: verb
tags: transitive
examples: He had with him all the tackle necessary for spooning pike.
Related words: cutlery
ladle
silverware
Derived words: absinthe spoon
apostle spoon
baffing spoon
bar spoon
born with a silver spoon in one's mouth
butterspoon
caddy spoon
caviar spoon
deflagrating spoon
dig one's grave with a fork and spoon
earspoon
ear-spoon
ear spoon
eat something up with a spoon
eat up with a spoon
egg and spoon race
fopoon
fpoon
gag me with a spoon
greasy spoon
he who sups with the devil should have a long spoon
level spoon
love spoon
monkey spoon
out of spoons
salad spoon
serving spoon
shoe spoon
silver spoon
silver-spoon socialist
slipper spoon
slotted spoon
spife
spindrift
spoodle
spoonable
spoonbait
spoonbender
spoonbending
spoonbill
spoonbilled
spoon-bowl
spoon bowl
spoonbread
spoon bread
spoon chime
spoondrift
spoon-feed
spoon-fed
spoonflower
spoonful
spoon-hook
spoon hook
spoonie
spoonist
spoonless
spoonlike
spoonload
spoon lure
spoonmaker
spoonmaking
spoonmeat
spoon-meat
spoon mustard
spoon oar
spoon of Diocles
spoonplug
spoon receiver
spoon rest
spoon sled
spoons position
spoon straw
spoon sweet
spoon theory
spoontray
spoonula
spoon warmer
spoonways
spoonwing
spoon-winged lacewing
spoonwise
spoonwood
spoonworm
spoon worm
spoonwort
spork
spubbler
sugar spoon
table-spoon
there is no spoon
tire spoon
big spoon
little spoon
spooner
spoon off
spoon out
Translations:
lang: Afrikaans
word: lepellê
lang: Chinese Mandarin
word: 抱睡
roman: bàoshuì
lang: Danish
word: ligge i ske
lang: Dutch
word: lepeltje-lepeltje liggen
lang: Esperanto
word: kulerumi
lang: Finnish
word: nukkua lusikassa
lang: German
word: Löffelchen schlafen
lang: Manx
word: nuiddree
lang: Polish
word: łyżeczkować
lang: Portuguese
word: deitar de conchinha
lang: Portuguese
word: fazer conchinha
lang: Spanish
word: cucharear
lang: Swahili
word: kijiko
lang: Swedish
word: skeda