Spoons

A spoon is a common eating utensil, or item of cutlery, somewhat like a small spade, with a bowl-shaped end on a handle, that occurs in a number of sizes and forms. Its main purposes are for conveying food to the mouth and for stirring, though it has a number of other uses. more...

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Etymology

The English word spoon derives from Old English spōn, meaning \"chip or splinter of wood or horn carved from a larger piece, shaving,\" from a Proto-Germanic root spūnuz (cf. Old Norse spann, sponn \"chip, splinter,\" Swedish spån \"a wooden spoon,\" Old Frisian spon, Medieval Dutch spaen, Dutch spaan, Old High German spān, German Span \"chip, splinter\"), in turn deriving from the Proto-Indo-European root spe-, denoting 'a long piece of wood', probably in the sense of a wedge (cf. Greek sphen \"wedge\").

The meaning \"eating utensil\" is recorded c.1300 in English, probably from Old Norse sponn, which meant \"spoon\" as well as \"chip, tile\" (development of the \"eating utensil\" sense is specific to Medieval England and Scandinavia, though Medieval Low German spon also meant \"wooden spatula\").

History

Spoons have been used by many cultures since the dawn of time as a vital eating tool. Achaemenid Persian spoon at right illustrates.

From the derivation of the word the earliest northern European spoon would seem to have been a chip or splinter of wood; Greek references point to the early and natural use of shells, such as those that are still used by primitive peoples. Preserved examples of various forms of spoons used by the ancient Egyptians include those composed of ivory, flint, slate and wood; many of them carved with the religious symbols. The spoons of the Greeks and Romans were chiefly made of bronze and silver and the handle usually takes the form of a spike or pointed stem. There are many examples in the British Museum from which the forms of the various types can be ascertained, the chief points of difference being found in the junction of the bowl with the handle.

Medieval spoons for domestic use were commonly made of horn or wood, but brass, pewter, and latten (copper alloy) spoons appear to have been common in about the 15th century. The full descriptions and entries relating to silver spoons in the inventories of the royal and other households point to their special value and rarity. The earliest English reference appears to be in a will of 1259. In the wardrobe accounts of Edward I for the year 1300 some gold and silver spoons marked with the fleur-de-lis, the Paris mark, are mentioned. One of the most interesting medieval spoons is the coronation spoon used in the anointing of the English sovereign.

The sets of Apostle Spoons, popular as christening presents in Tudor times, the handles of which terminate in heads or busts of the apostles, are a special form to which antiquarian interest attaches. The earlier English spoon-handles terminate in an acorn, plain knob or a diamond; at the end of the 16th century, the baluster and seal ending becomes common, the bowl being fig-shaped.

Read more at Wikipedia.org