tablespoonn.
/ˈteɪblspuːn/, U.S. /ˈteɪbəlˌspun/ 1. A large spoon (larger than a dessertspoon) for serving food. Also occasionally: a (smaller) spoon used for eating.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > food > setting table > table utensils > [noun] > cutlery > spoon > types of
maidenhead1495
slipc1530
Apostle spoon1631
tea-spoon1686
hall-spoon1688
pap spoon1691
tablespoon1741
dessert-spoon1808
salt-spoon1820
monkey spoon1833
Puritan spoon1875
sugar shell1895
seal-top1898
slotted spoon1900
absinthe spoon1905
trifid1927
1741 Proc. Assizes Peace Surrey 22–25 July 12/2 I lost eight Table Spoons and a Pap Spoon out of my House.
1763 Brit. Mag. 4 275 The villain stole two large table~spoons.
1861 New Monthly Mag. 123 231 They are thus enabled to devour the oysters with tablespoons, and this soup is a standing dish at the soirées of New York.
1864 C. Dickens Our Mutual Friend (1865) I. i. ii. 8 Like a face in a tablespoon.
1919 H. G. Wells Undying Fire ii. 33 She put down the tablespoon and fork she had just raised, and regarded him with eyes of dark disapproval.
1939 E. Post 101 Common Mistakes Etiquette v. 33 In many houses the formal dinner soup plate from which soup is eaten with a tablespoon, makes its appearance not more than two or three times a year.
1975 Amer. Art Jrnl. 7 79/1 A fully equipped tea table required..tea spoons, of necessity smaller than the standard tablespoon.
2002 T. Shimoda Fourth Treasure (2003) 161 Hanako placed the tablespoon heaped with thick miso paste into the hot, delicately green broth.
2. The amount a tablespoon holds.Now a standard measure in cookery equivalent, in most countries, to 15ml (approx. 0.5 fluid ounces) or three teaspoons. In Australia a tablespoon is equivalent to 20ml. Abbreviated tbsp, tbs.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > measurement > the scientific measurement of volume > measure(s) of capacity > [noun] > specific liquid or dry units > spoon as unit
spoonfulc1290
cochleare1708
teaspoonful1732
tablespoonful1755
tea-spoon1791
tablespoon1805
tbs.1950
tsp.1950
1805 J. Lawrence Gen. Treat. Cattle 536 The pigs having gorged themselves, and blunted their appetite, give to each two table-spoons of sulphur once or twice a day.
1865 Atlantic Monthly Nov. 536/2 When the batter is cool, add the remainder of the milk, a teacup of hop-yeast, a half-tablespoon of salt, with flour to make it quite stiff.
1934 Copeia 2 82 All the egg's liquid except about one-half tablespoon of the yolk had been absorbed.
1976 A. Young Geogr. of Near Past 49 It would be so easy..to..shoot up a tablespoon of smack & lie down in the middle of the James Lick Memorial Freeway.
2007 Ottawa Citizen (Nexis) 17 Oct. h4 You could get a similar result for less money using a small can of coconut milk, a heaping tablespoon of crunchy peanut butter, and some rice noodles.
Derivatives
ˈtableˌspoonful n. (plural tablespoonfuls, tablespoonsful) the amount a tablespoon holds; (also figurative) a small amount.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > measurement > the scientific measurement of volume > measure(s) of capacity > [noun] > specific liquid or dry units > spoon as unit
spoonfulc1290
cochleare1708
teaspoonful1732
tablespoonful1755
tea-spoon1791
tablespoon1805
tbs.1950
tsp.1950
1755 G. Wirgman tr. L. Heister Med., Chirurg., & Anat. Cases & Observ. 79 My way was to cause them to infuse a table spoonful of these ingredients every morning early.
1880 ‘M. Twain’ Tramp Abroad App. F. 627 The less important dailies give one a tablespoonful of a continued story every day.
1894 J. M. Walsh Coffee 240 Add half tablespoonful of powdered chicory to two tablespoonfuls of ground coffee.
1923 Jrnl. Philos. 20 91 A wounded soldier lying under the scorching sun of the tropics..crawled painfully to a small depression where there were a few tablespoonfuls of water.
2002 S. Stacey & J. Fairley 21st Cent. Beauty Bible 136/2 Put about a tablespoonful of olive oil..into a small dish and mix in sea salt until you have a stiffish sludge.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2008; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.1741