A spoon used at the table to serve or to eat soup is referred to as a tablespoon. But the tablespoon is also a measure of volume (roughly equal to 1/2 fluid ounce) that first appeared as a word in the middle of the 18th century.

As recipes began to be written down with greater frequency, the unit of a tablespoon may have been used as a measurement simply because it was a utensil that was already there (like the teaspoon). Today, most people use specially made measuring spoons when following recipes rather than dipping into their own silverware drawers.

In French, the tablespoon is called a cuillière à soupe, or soup spoon; the teaspoon is called a cuillière à café.