I haven’t heard anybody actually use the term “silverware” in as long as I can remember. Have I just not been getting out enough?
I hear people just refer to forks & knives and such. I can’t think of an occasion where I would need to have collective term for forks, knives and spoons except possibly if I was shopping for sets of them, and in that case I’d say “flatware”.
Then yesterday while munching on my salad at the market, I heard a young woman call out to her friend “can you bring some silverwear?” because she had sat down without getting herself a plastic fork. The term just sounded wrong to my ears. If I had been her, I would have just asked for a fork.
I wouldn’t feel right about saying “silverwear” unless I was referring to the real silver-plated stuff that is reserved for weddings and such. Just like I wouldn’t say “china” if I meant paper plate, or “crystal” if I meant stryfoam cup.
I call it “silverware, I mean flatware”, because it seems to be programed into my mind as the generic term but my compulsive side kicks in as soon as I hear it and I correct myself.
It was always ‘silverware’ with my family, even though there was no actual silver present except at Thanksgiving.
In fairness, it’s not really all that flat either is it? And only one of the conventional implements is specifically designed for cutting, so what sense does ‘cutlery’ make as a general term?
Maybe there is no correct term. And yet there it is, in the drawer. What is it? WHAT IS IT?
“Silverware” means “eating utensils,” even if they’re plastic. At least as far as I’m concerned. Kinda like “Band-Aids” means “adhesive bandage,” even if it’s made by somebody besides the Band-Aid company. “Thermos” means “insulated beverage holder” even if the Thermos company didn’t make it. “Kleenex” means “disposable handkerchief” even if Kleenex didn’t manufacture it. If I sneeze I don’t say, “Does anybody have any facial tissue?”
I say, “Does anybody have a Kleenex?”
By the same token, if I’m getting take-out and they say, “Do you need silverware?” I say “Yes please!” not, “No, but I would like some plastic eating utensils please!”
shrug
It’s one of those words that has become generic. So yes, re: the OP, it’s a generic term for eating utensils. At least in my neck of the woods.
I see, according to Wiki, that most in America do just see knives as cutlery. The etymology backs that up. Elsewhere, though, the word encompasses forks and spoons as well.
There’s mention of “flatware” as well. I’ve only ever seen it in American publications, and at that in old ones.
I call flatware that is silver in color (but may actually be made of stainless steel or something like that) “silverware”. If it’s actually made of silver, it’s referred to as “the good silver”. If it’s plastic, then it’s just a “plastic fork” or whatnot and “plastic utensils” if I’m talking about a set of plastic flatware.
My parents have silver forks and spoons, so ‘silverware’ refers to those. They also have steel ones. ‘Knives and forks’ refers to utensils that are knives and forks, regardless of the metal.
Midwesterner here. Silverware is the most common term locally for a mixed collection of eating utensils, no matter the material of which they’re made. The term “flatware” is generally understood (though I can think of a few coworkers that wouldn’t know the term), but rarely used.
Does the term “flatware” come from utensils that have been stamped from a flat sheet? It seems just as inappropriate for my current utensils (they have molded handles) as does silverware, since they’re steel, so I just go with the more generally used term.
It’s all silverware–that’s what you eat with. The actual knives and forks made out of silver are called “the silver,” if you happen to own any which I don’t.
