chopstick en · NOUN
Pronunciation
Etymology
Apparently a compound of chop + stick, but the sense of the first element is not clear. The term was earliest applied to fishing tackle (from 1615), later being transferred to the dining utensil (attested since 1637) driven by their visual resemblance. The commonly held derivation from Chinese Pidgin English chop(-chop) (“quick”), a supposed calque from Chinese 筷子 (kuàizi, “chopstick, literally, ‘little quick ones’”), derived from 快 (kuài, “quick”), is chronologically impossible as Chinese Pidgin English did not come into existence until the 18th century.
Meanings
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(plural-normally) An East Asian eating utensil typically used as a pair held in one hand to grip food items, mix liquids, or scoop food out of a bowl. The utensil is a stick, usually made of wood, and measuring approximately 23 cm (10 inches) in length.
These Sticks are called by the Chinese Quay-tse, and by some of our Voyagers Chopsticks, which they manage so dexterously that they can take up a grain of rice with them.
1761, Hau Kiou Choaan, or, The Pleasing History, London: R. and J. Dodson, page 192:All the Tonquineses keep many of these Sticks in their Houses, as well for their own use, as to entertain Strangers at meals: they are as ordinarily placed at the Table here, as Knives, Forks, and Spoons are in England: and a man that cannot dextrously handle these instruments, makes but an odd figure at their Tables. The richer sort of people, especially the Mandarins, have them tipt with Silver. In China also these things are constantly used: they are called by the English Seamen Chopsticks.
1697, William Dampier, A New Voyage Round the World, London: James Knapton, page 85:It took three months’ massage twice a day for ten minutes to bring the muscles to a good condition, and the boy left the hospital able to lift weights as well as to use his chop-sticks.
1906 January, R. T. Booth, “Medical and Surgical Notes”, in China Medical Missionary Journal, volume XX, number 1, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 75:When not used, the chopsticks must be laid on the table, side by side, exactly pointing away from the individual[.]
1850, Walter Henry Medhurst, A Glance at the Interior of China, Obtained During a journey through the Silk and Green Tea Districts, London: John Snow, page 11:Then broughtt they us some henne cutt in small peeces and Fresh porcke Don in like Manner, giving us Choppsticks to eatt our Meat, butt wee knew not how to use them, soe imployed our Fingers. [...] Having before mentioned Chopstickes, I will Describe a ordinary Fellow, as boatmen, etts., how hee eateth / his meat, which is commonly on the ground or Decke. Hee taketh the stickes (which are aboutt a foote longe) beetweene his Fingers and with them hee taketh uppe his Meat, beeing first cut smalle, as saltporcke, Fish, etts., with which they relish their Rice (it beeing their common Foode). I say first taking upp a bitt of the Meatte, hee presently applies to his Mouth a smalle procelane with sodden Rice. Hee thrusts, Crammes and stuffes it full of the said Rice with the Chopsticks in exceedingly hasty Manner untill it will hold No more.
1637, Peter Mundy, Diary; in Richard Carnac Temple, editor, The English Factory in Japan, 1613–1623: Volume I, Cambridge: The Hakluyt Society, 1919, page 194:The main feature was large plates of meat cut up in small pieces, well-cooked and very nice, so I waded into it with chop-sticks, and had quite a good meal.
1920 January 11, The Sun, Sydney, page 5, column 4:The guests, including Australians, ate with chopsticks and drank beer, spirits or Chinese tea from rice bowls.
1950 February 18, The Newcastle Morning Herald and Miners' Advocate, NSW, page 1, column 3:We ate chow-chow with chop-sticks in the celestial restaurants; […]
1870–1871 (date written), Mark Twain [pseudonym; Samuel Langhorne Clemens], “”, in Roughing It, Hartford, Conn.: American Publishing Company [et al.], published 1872, →OCLC, page 396:
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(ethnic, slur) An Asian person.
Every horse you possess having no action, or which a day's journey would knock up, (to be found in lots far more numerous than the Chinamen as yet,) ought to be turned out to fatten; when plump, take the animal into the nearest station, occupied by these chopsticks.
1852 March 13, The Maitland Mercury and Hunter River General Advertiser, NSW, page 4, column 3:"How cool is that, Chong? Wolverine is in the house." "Wolver this, you chopstick."
2013, Angelina Martinez, Falling In Love, Bloomington: Author House, page 50:When was in Hampshire the other day, a chop-stick, who came to my lodging to talk to me about the mode of harvesting and preserving the corn, and who soon diverged into a talk about the Reform Bill, said, "And this cholera morbus, sir, don't you think it's a sort of a shoshoy to frighten us out of the Reform?"
1832 April 11, The Launceston Advertiser, Tasmania, page 119, column 2:
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(obsolete) A long straight stick used to keep baited hooks separated in deep-sea fishing tackle.
The Fisherman has a Line of 90 Fathom long, or more, with a Lead at the end of it called a Deep-sea-lead, of about 6 or 7 pounds weight, to sink it; above which is a cross-stick, termed a Chop-stick, with 2 Lines and Hooks at them, with Baits[.]
1726, Nathan Bailey, Dictionarium Rusticum, Urbanicum and Botanicum, London: James and John Knapton et al., page s.v. Iceland:The baits are now cast clear of the boat, the lead being thrown into the water away from them; for if dropped on the snood, as I have seen done by many unthinking persons who have only been accustomed to chopstick lines, a foul is the natural result.
1875, J.C. Wilcocks, The Sea-Fisherman, London: Longmans, Green, and Co., page 62:The spreader is passed through the hole in the sinker, c, until its centre is reached, when the edges of the holes must be closed in tightly with a small hammer, which will, if properly done, retain the spreader securely in its place. This arrangement is generally known amongst fishermen as a set of "chop-sticks."
1862, W.B. Lord, Sea Fish and How to Catch Them, London: Bradbury, Agnew and Co., page 44:I pray pardon me for that Capt' Adams' hast to goe downe causeth me to be breefer then I would, wishing you to luffe as fast as you can in the heigh of hogg faces, for these climates of Meaco yeald nothinge but shirrow & chopp-stickes.
1615 October 23, Richard Wickham, letter; in Anthony Farrington, editor, The English Factory in Japan, 1613-1623: Volume I, London: The British Library, 1991, page 330:One great advantage of this rig is that the lead and its appendage are always hauled up endways, thus offering less opposition to the water than those fitted with the different chop-sticks.
1905, P. L. Haslope, Practical Sea-fishing: A Handbook for Sea Anglers, London: L. Upcott Gill, page 30:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| chop-stick | alternative | lexicographic | |
| chopsticks | Number=Plur | lexicographic |
Deriveds
chork · chopstick stand · chopstick legs · chopsticky · chopstickish · chopsticker · chopstick rest · chopstickism · chopstickless · chopstickology · chopstickery · chopstickiness · chopstick land · chopstick-like · chopstickful · choppers
Relateds
Translations (161)
hy փայտիկ (single eating utensil) · szy atip (single eating utensil) · tr yemek çubuğu (single eating utensil) · khb ᦑᦰᦵᦆᧇ (single eating utensil) · hu evőpálcika (single eating utensil) · ug چوكا (single eating utensil) · nan-hbl 箸 (single eating utensil) · it bacchetta (single eating utensil) · shn ထူႇ (single eating utensil) · mi kakape (single eating utensil) · lic tiep (single eating utensil) · ryu ウメーシ (single eating utensil) · dru kacipi (single eating utensil) · is matarprjónn (single eating utensil) · ami alalpit (single eating utensil) · ug كويزا (single eating utensil) · mnw သ္ကေပ် (single eating utensil) · hak 筷仔 (single eating utensil) · ja おはし (single eating utensil) · ko 저가락 (single eating utensil) · vo fidastafil (single eating utensil) · cs jídelní hůlka (single eating utensil) · ru па́лочка для еды́ (single eating utensil) · ka ჩხირები (single eating utensil) · de Essstäbchen (single eating utensil) · pyu tratringal (single eating utensil) · yue 筷子 (single eating utensil) · ja 菜箸 (single eating utensil) · sl palčka (single eating utensil) · be па́лачка (single eating utensil) · mr चॉपस्टिक (single eating utensil) · gan 筷子 (single eating utensil) · tao sosopit (single eating utensil) · ami alapi (single eating utensil) · sh štapić za jelo (single eating utensil) · alt тайак (single eating utensil) · bo ཁོ་ཙེ (single eating utensil) · ar عَصَا الْأَكْل (single eating utensil) · fo matpinnur (single eating utensil) · my တူ (single eating utensil) · lo ໄມ້ຖູ່ (single eating utensil) · ca bastonet (single eating utensil) · hi चीनी काँटा (single eating utensil) · tay qqway (single eating utensil) · gu ચોપસ્ટિક્સ (single eating utensil) · trv atak (single eating utensil) · za guhduh (single eating utensil) · da spisepind (single eating utensil) · mk стапче за јадење (single eating utensil) · eo manĝobastoneto (single eating utensil) · khb ᦺᦙᧉᦏᦴᧈ (single eating utensil) · dng куэзы (single eating utensil) · cmn 筷子 (single eating utensil) · be па́лачка для е́жы (single eating utensil) · ar أَعْوَاد الْأَكْل (single eating utensil) · haw lāʻau ʻai (single eating utensil) · bnn halcis (single eating utensil) · fo etingarpinnur (single eating utensil) · pcc deh (single eating utensil) · ja お手元 (single eating utensil) · tl sipit-Intsik (single eating utensil) · niv чафӄ (single eating utensil) · id penjepit (single eating utensil) · eo haŝio (single eating utensil) · ast paliyu (single eating utensil) · ssf kakthi (single eating utensil) · tyv сакпыт (single eating utensil) · ryu メーシ (single eating utensil) · ii ꎋ (single eating utensil) · sl jedilna palčka (single eating utensil) · cmn 箸 (single eating utensil) · ja 御手元 (single eating utensil) · bn হাশি (single eating utensil) · ru кита́йские па́лочки (single eating utensil) · wuu 筷子 (single eating utensil) · tl ipit-ipit (single eating utensil) · ms sumpit (Malacca) (single eating utensil) · id penyepit (single eating utensil) · cdo 箸 (single eating utensil) · xsy hahowar (single eating utensil) · ja 箸 (single eating utensil) · ms sepit (single eating utensil) · mn модон савх (single eating utensil) · km ថ្កៀប (single eating utensil) · ms penyepit (single eating utensil) · he מַקְּלוֹת אֲכִילָה (single eating utensil) · id sepit (single eating utensil) · sk palička (single eating utensil) · sv kinapinne (single eating utensil) · et söögipulk (single eating utensil) · khb ᦏᦴᧈ (single eating utensil) · km ចង្កឹះ (single eating utensil) · nl eetstokje (single eating utensil) · tsu husu (single eating utensil) · ja 御手許 (single eating utensil) · uk па́личка для ї́жі (single eating utensil) · hy ուտելու փայտիկ (single eating utensil) · ja おてもと (single eating utensil) · xsy sasoway (single eating utensil) · vi đũa (single eating utensil) · ja お手許 (single eating utensil) · pt pauzinho (single eating utensil) · sv ätpinne (single eating utensil) · id sumpit (single eating utensil) · mt stikek tal-injam (single eating utensil) · vi đũa cả (single eating utensil) · oc bròca (single eating utensil) · es palito chino (single eating utensil) · el ξυλάκι (single eating utensil) · mww rab rawg tais (single eating utensil) · th ตะเกียบ (single eating utensil) · cmn 筷兒 /筷儿 (single eating utensil) · fr baguette (single eating utensil) · sh штапић за јело (single eating utensil) · cjy 筷子 (single eating utensil) · mnc ᠰᠠᠪᡴᠠ (single eating utensil) · mh aji (single eating utensil) · ckv ipit (single eating utensil) · sh štàpić (single eating utensil) · shn မႆႉထူႇ (single eating utensil) · hsn 筷子 (single eating utensil) · lo ຖູ່ (single eating utensil) · ko 젓가락 (single eating utensil) · za dawh (single eating utensil) · sv pinne (single eating utensil) · ain イペパスイ (single eating utensil) · es palillo (single eating utensil) · kk таяқша (single eating utensil) · pt hashi (single eating utensil) · wuu 筷 (single eating utensil) · mi kapekape (single eating utensil) · ast paliellu (single eating utensil) · nb spisepinne (single eating utensil) · ja 割り箸 (single eating utensil) · sxr 'aratingi (single eating utensil) · pwn qecap (single eating utensil) · bg пръ́чка за хра́нене (single eating utensil) · ami alapit (single eating utensil) · ar هَاشِي (single eating utensil) · fi syömäpuikko (single eating utensil) · ru па́лочка (single eating utensil) · cs hůlka (single eating utensil) · pl pałeczka (single eating utensil) · bg кле́чка за хра́нене (single eating utensil) · mzs faichi (single eating utensil) · tl sipit ng Intsik (single eating utensil) · mn савх (single eating utensil) · mww rawg (single eating utensil) · fi puikko (single eating utensil) · eo kvajzo (single eating utensil) · ro bețișor (single eating utensil) · sh шта̀пић (single eating utensil) · ga cipín itheacháin (single eating utensil) · is prjónn (single eating utensil) · ain パスイ (single eating utensil) · tg чӯбчаи хӯрока (single eating utensil) · xsy hahawar (single eating utensil) · lo ຕະຂຽບ (single eating utensil) · cy gweillen fwyta (single eating utensil) · xnb ʼarating (single eating utensil) · uk па́личка (single eating utensil)
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