Runcible spoon

Other runcible objects

The word "runcible" was apparently one of Lear's favourite inventions, appearing in several of his works in reference to a number of different objects. In his verse self-portrait, How Pleasant to Know Mr. Lear, it is noted that "he weareth a runcible hat". Other poems include mention of a "runcible cat", a "runcible goose", and a "runcible wall".

[edit] Attempts to define the word

Lear does not appear to have had any firm idea of what the word "runcible" means. His whimsical nonsense verse celebrates words primarily for their sound, and a specific definition is not needed to appreciate his work. However, since the 1920s (several decades after Lear's death), modern dictionaries have generally defined a runcible spoon to be a fork with three prongs, such as a pickle fork, which is curved like a spoon, and also has a cutting edge. It should be noted that this definition is not consistent with Lear's drawing of a "runcible spoon", mentioned above, nor does it account for the other "runcible" objects in Lear's poems.

Latin runcāre = "to weed", "to thin out", and:-

* If a Latin noun runcibulum existed (as an error for runcābulum), it would mean "tool used for weeding".
* If a Latin adjective runcibilis existed (as an error for runcābilis), it would mean "capable of being weeded out".