Spoonie

//ˈspuː.ni// noun, slang

noun, slang ·Moderate ·College level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    Alternative form of spoony (“foolish or silly person”). alt-of, alternative, archaic

    "I shall wander amid the ruins of ancient magnificence, and indulge my heart in melancholy musings! Pooh! do you think me such a spoonie?"

  2. 2
    A northern shoveler (Spatula clypeata, formerly Anas clypeata).

    "Every time a spoonie would alight within 400 yards of "Uncle George" he would proceed to stalk that spoonie with as much care as if it were a ten-point buck."

  3. 3
    A person with a chronic illness or disability. Internet, slang

    "And if spoonies use up more energy than they really have, and get excessively exhausted as a result, it's known as getting into "spoon deficit"."

  4. 4
    someone with a chronic illness wordnet

Example

More examples

"I shall wander amid the ruins of ancient magnificence, and indulge my heart in melancholy musings! Pooh! do you think me such a spoonie?"

Etymology

Etymology 1

Unknown. Possibly related to the phrase born with a silver spoon in one's mouth.

Etymology 2

From the spatulate shape of the bill.

Etymology 3

From spoon (“unit of limited personal energy”) + -ie. See spoon theory.

Related phrases

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.