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Dictionary

Words, grammatical forms and meanings linked to the ontology.

silver spoon en · NOUN

Pronunciation

Etymology

Rooted in 18th century European table-setting customs, when diners would bring their own utensils to the meal. To distinguish themselves from serfs and peasants, members of the land-owning classes often used silver cutlery, whence the term silverware.

Meanings

  1. (idiomatic, uncountable) Wealth passed down or inherited.
    • Some folks are born silver spoon in hand / Lord, don't they help themselves, yeah 1969, Creedence Clearwater Revival, “Fortunate Son”, in Willy and the Poor Boys:
    • He was born with a silver spoon and an upturned nose. He didn't lose the latter when he squandered the former.

Relateds

born with a silver spoon in one's mouth · silvertail · silver fork novel

Translations (5)

yue 金鎖匙 /金锁匙 (wealth passed down) · ml വെള്ളിക്കരണ്ടി (wealth passed down) · cmn 金湯匙 /金汤匙 (wealth passed down) · fi hopealusikka (wealth passed down) · cmn 金鑰匙 /金钥匙 (wealth passed down)