Where does “spoonful” come from?
Spoonful comes from Middle English sponefull, a compound of spone and the suffix -ful meaning "as much as a spoon can hold."
spoonful (English): The amount that a spoon will hold, either level...
Definitions
- The amount that a spoon will hold, either level...
Ancestry of “spoonful”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middle English | sponeful | spoonful amount that fits in a spoon |
| 2 | Middle English | spone | A spoon or scoop; especially a spoon used as a... |
| 3 | Old English | spōn | piece of wood, chip; sliver, chip of wood,... |
| 4 | Proto-West Germanic | spanu | piece of wood, chip, shaving |
| 5 | Proto-Germanic | spenô | nipple |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | psten-os- | — |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | pstḗn | breast, teat |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | ph₂ǵ-sth₂-ḗn | — |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | steh₂- | to stand |