Source etymology 1
Original entry ↗An implement for eating or serving; a scooped utensil whose long handle is straight, in contrast to a ladle. · An implement for stirring food while being prepared; a wooden spoon. · A measure that will fit into a spoon; a spoonful. · A wooden-headed golf club with moderate loft, similar to the modern fairway wood.
To serve using a spoon; to transfer (something) with a spoon. · To flirt; to make advances; to court, to interact romantically or amorously. · To lie nestled front-to-back, following the contours of the bodies, in a manner reminiscent of stacked spoons. · To have sex in such a position.
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).
Relationships mentioned by the source
These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.
- Inherited-form mentionspoonenm
- Inherited-form mentionspōnang · sliver, chip of wood, shaving
- Inherited-form mention*spānugmw-pro
- Inherited-form mention*spēnuzgem-pro · chip, flake, shaving
- Derivation mention*(s)peH-ine-pro · chip, shaving, log, length of wood
- Cognate mentionspunsco
- Cognate mentionspoenfy · chip
- Cognate mentionspaannl · chip, flinders
- Cognate mentionSpande · chip, flake, shaving
- Cognate mentionspånsv · chip, flake
- Cognate mentionsponnn
- Cognate mentionspónurfo · wood chip; spoon
- Cognate mentionσφήνgrc · wedge
- Non-cognate comparisoncuculerang
- Non-cognate comparisoncochlearla · spoon
This page abbreviates 10 auxiliary source items. The etymology narrative is not shortened. Omission counts are available in the audit fields below; consult the original for complete auxiliary material.
Inspect preserved source fields
Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.
{
"templates": [
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"name": "inh",
"args": {
"1": "en",
"2": "enm",
"3": "spoon"
},
"expansion": "Middle English spoon"
},
{
"name": "inh",
"args": {
"1": "en",
"2": "ang",
"3": "spōn",
"t": "sliver, chip of wood, shaving"
},
"expansion": "Old English spōn (“sliver, chip of wood, shaving”)"
},
{
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},
"expansion": "Scots spun"
},
{
"name": "cog",
"args": {
"1": "fy",
"2": "spoen",
"t": "chip"
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"expansion": "West Frisian spoen (“chip”)"
},
{
"name": "cog",
"args": {
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"2": "spaan",
"t": "chip, flinders"
},
"expansion": "Dutch spaan (“chip, flinders”)"
},
{
"name": "cog",
"args": {
"1": "de",
"2": "Span",
"t": "chip, flake, shaving"
},
"expansion": "German Span (“chip, flake, shaving”)"
},
{
"name": "cog",
"args": {
"1": "sv",
"2": "spån",
"t": "chip, flake"
},
"expansion": "Swedish spån (“chip, flake”)"
},
{
"name": "cog",
"args": {
"1": "nn",
"2": "spon",
"3": "",
"4": "chip, spoon"
},
"expansion": "Norwegian Nynorsk spon (“chip, spoon”)"
},
{
"name": "cog",
"args": {
"1": "fo",
"2": "spónur",
"t": "wood chip; spoon"
},
"expansion": "Faroese spónur (“wood chip; spoon”)"
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"name": "cog",
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"2": "σφήν",
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"expansion": "Ancient Greek σφήν (sphḗn, “wedge”)"
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{
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"2": "cuculer"
},
"expansion": "Old English cuculer"
},
{
"name": "ncog",
"args": {
"1": "la",
"2": "cochlear",
"t": "spoon"
},
"expansion": "Latin cochlear (“spoon”)"
},
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"2": "Christine Miserandino",
"w": "-",
"in": "2003",
"occ": "writer",
"occ2": "disability advocate",
"nobycat": "1",
"nocap": "1"
},
"expansion": "coined by writer and disability advocate Christine Miserandino in 2003"
}
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[
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"Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/(s)peH-"
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[
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[
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[
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[
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],
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"spoon theory#English"
]
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{
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"An implement for eating or serving; a scooped utensil whose long handle is straight, in contrast to a ladle.",
"An implement for stirring food while being prepared; a wooden spoon.",
"A measure that will fit into a spoon; a spoonful.",
"A wooden-headed golf club with moderate loft, similar to the modern fairway wood."
],
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"glosses": [
"To serve using a spoon; to transfer (something) with a spoon.",
"To flirt; to make advances; to court, to interact romantically or amorously.",
"To lie nestled front-to-back, following the contours of the bodies, in a manner reminiscent of stacked spoons.",
"To have sex in such a position."
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