spoon

spoon
   Used in the early nineteenth century with the meaning ‘fool, simpleton’. This is said to be because the household utensil is both open and shallow. ‘You little spooney’ is used by a boy to his young sister, who is crying, in George Eliot’s The Mill on the Floss. ‘Spooney’ later came to mean someone who was foolishly in love, and later still, an effeminate man.
   The vocative uses seem to have disappeared in modern English, though the verb ‘to spoon’, meaning to court in a sentimental way, has survived.

A dictionary of epithets and terms of address . . 2015.

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  • Spoon — Spoon, n. [OE. spon, AS. sp[=o]n, a chip; akin to D. spaan, G. span, Dan. spaan, Sw. sp[*a]n, Icel. sp[ a]nn, sp[ o]nn, a chip, a spoon. [root]170. Cf. {Span new}.] 1. An implement consisting of a small bowl (usually a shallow oval) with a handle …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • spoon — [spo͞on] n. [ME spon < OE a chip: sense infl. by cognate ON spōnn, spoon: see SPADE1] 1. a utensil consisting of a small, shallow, usually oval shaped bowl and a handle, used for picking up or stirring food, etc. as in eating or cooking 2.… …   English World dictionary

  • spoon´i|ly — spoon|y «SPOO nee», adjective, spoon|i|er, spoon|i|est, noun, plural spoon|ies. Informal. –adj. foolish or silly in lovemaking; demonstratively fond: »I was never in love myself, but I ve seen many others spoony (Frederick Marryat) …   Useful english dictionary

  • spoon|y — «SPOO nee», adjective, spoon|i|er, spoon|i|est, noun, plural spoon|ies. Informal. –adj. foolish or silly in lovemaking; demonstratively fond: »I was never in love myself, but I ve seen many others spoony (Frederick Marryat) …   Useful english dictionary

  • Spoon — Spoon, v. i. 1. To fish with a spoon bait. [Webster 1913 Suppl.] 2. In croquet, golf, etc., to spoon a ball. [Webster 1913 Suppl.] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Spoon — Spoon, v. t. 1. To take up in, or as in, a spoon. [1913 Webster] 2. (Fishing) To catch by fishing with a spoon bait. He had with him all the tackle necessary for spooning pike. Mrs. Humphry Ward. [Webster 1913 Suppl.] 3. In croquet, golf, etc.,… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • spoon|ey — «SPOO nee», adjective, spoon|i|er, spoon|i|est, noun, plural spoon|eys. = spoony. (Cf. ↑spoony) …   Useful english dictionary

  • Spoon — 〈[spu:n] m. 6; Golf〉 hölzerner Schläger für lange u. hohe Schläge [engl., eigtl. „Löffel“] * * * Spoon [spu:n, ʃpu:n], der; s, s [engl. spoon, eigtl. = Löffel] (Golf veraltet): löffelförmiger Golfschläger …   Universal-Lexikon

  • Spoon — (sp[=oo]n), v. i. (Naut.) See {Spoom}. [Obs.] [1913 Webster] We might have spooned before the wind as well as they. Pepys. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Spoon — Spoon, v. i. To act with demonstrative or foolish fondness, as one in love. [Colloq.] [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • spoon — s.m.inv. ES ingl. {{wmetafile0}} TS sport bastone da golf con spatola in legno inclinata, impiegato per effettuare tiri molto lunghi {{line}} {{/line}} DATA: 1964. ETIMO: ingl. spoon propr. cucchiaio …   Dizionario italiano

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