英语词汇silver spoon的起源、历史背景-英语词源词典

silver spoon. The earliest spoons were made of wood, the word spoon, in fact, deriving from the Anglo-Saxon spon, “a chip of wood.” Until the 19th century most people used pewter spoons, but traditionally, especially among the wealthy, god- parents have given the gift of a silver spoon to their godchildren at christening ceremonies. The custom is centuries old through- out Europe and inspired the saying “born with a silver spoon in one’s mouth,” i.e., born to hereditary wealth that doesn’t have to be earned. This expression is not of American origin as the O.E.D. implies; the great dictionary only traces the phrase back to 1800 here, but it is much older, for Cervantes used it in Don Quixote (1605–1615): “Every man was not born with a silver spoon in his mouth.” The duke of Bedford gave a nice twist to the phrase in the title of his biography, A Silver-Plated Spoon. The silver shoon in Walter de la Mare’s poem “Silver” are “silver shoes,” shoon being an old plural of shoe:

词汇	silver spoon
词源	silver spoon. The earliest spoons were made of wood, the word spoon, in fact, deriving from the Anglo-Saxon spon, “a chip of wood.” Until the 19th century most people used pewter spoons, but traditionally, especially among the wealthy, god- parents have given the gift of a silver spoon to their godchildren at christening ceremonies. The custom is centuries old through- out Europe and inspired the saying “born with a silver spoon in one’s mouth,” i.e., born to hereditary wealth that doesn’t have to be earned. This expression is not of American origin as the O.E.D. implies; the great dictionary only traces the phrase back to 1800 here, but it is much older, for Cervantes used it in Don Quixote (1605–1615): “Every man was not born with a silver spoon in his mouth.” The duke of Bedford gave a nice twist to the phrase in the title of his biography, A Silver-Plated Spoon. The silver shoon in Walter de la Mare’s poem “Silver” are “silver shoes,” shoon being an old plural of shoe: Slowly, silently, now the moon Walks the night in her silver shoon.
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