Link Centre Dictionary

chopstick

chops·tick

UK/ˈt͡ʃɒp.stɪk/ US/ˈt͡ʃɑp.stɪk/ rare informal obsolete rare

noun

1.

oriental tableware consisting of a pair of sticks used to eat food with

Synonyms

Origin

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.

Phrases

  • chopstick land
  • chopstick legs
  • chopstick rest
  • chopstick stand

Related words

Word family

Broader terms

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.