chopstick
English
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chopstick
- /ˈt͡ʃɒp.stɪk/ UK
- /ˈt͡ʃɑp.stɪk/ US
Where it comes from
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.
noun chopsticks · chop-stick
- 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. 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 eat
- An Asian person. 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 t
- A long straight stick used to keep baited hooks separated in deep-sea fishing tackle. 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.
verb chopsticks · chopsticking · chopsticked · chopstuck
- To pick up (food), or eat, using chopsticks, or as with chopsticks. Then, holding his plate close to his mouth, he chopsticked it in with his fork, and, with tremendous gusto, called for more.
- To fish using a tackle with a chopstick. Plaice, and flat fish of all kinds, are taken from the jetties at Yarmouth; and, by taking a boat, good sport may be had chopsticking for marckerel, whiting, and haddock, large quantities of these fish being caught here by this popular method.
Translations
Every language
noun single eating utensil
| Español | palillo, palito chino |
|---|---|
| 한국어 | 젓가락 jeotgarak |
| 日本語 | 箸 hashi, おはし o-hashi, 菜箸 saibashi, おてもと otemoto, お手許 otemoto, お手元 otemoto |
| 中文 | 筷子 kuàizi, 筷兒 /筷儿 kuàir, 箸 zhù |
| हिन्दी | चीनी काँटा cīnī kā̃ṭā |
| Português | pauzinho, hashi |
| Français | baguette |
| Deutsch | Essstäbchen |
| Italiano | bacchetta |
| Ελληνικά | ξυλάκι xyláki |
| Română | bețișor |
| Русский | па́лочка páločka, кита́йские па́лочки kitájskije páločki, па́лочка для еды́ páločka dlja jedý |
| Tiếng Việt | đũa, đũa cả |
| العربية | أَعْوَاد الْأَكْل ʔaʕwād al-ʔakl, هَاشِي hāšī, عَصَا الْأَكْل ʕaṣā l-ʔakl |
| עברית | מַקְּלוֹת אֲכִילָה mak'lót akhilá |
Talk about this word "chopstick." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/chopstick. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. chopstick. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/chopstick "chopstick." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/chopstick.Cite this
@misc{chopstick_2026,
title = {chopstick},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/chopstick},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
