flatware

noun

Etymology: Etymology tree Proto-Germanic *flataz Old Norse flatrbor. Middle English flat English flat Proto-Germanic *warō Proto-West Germanic *waru Old English waru Middle English ware English -ware English flatware From flat + -ware.

1. Eating utensils; cutlery, such as forks, knives and spoons.

   “A girl without a nightgown or bathing suit. Who had never used two pieces of flatware to eat.”

   “Flatware should not be allowed to dry between presoaking and washing. It should be washed with the handles down and stored with the handles up.”

2. Plates, dishes and other relatively flat crockery.

   “The artsy set can now go to a Made By You—one of those places where you pay six times more to decorate your own mugs and dishes than it would cost to buy flatware that other people have decorated”