The term cutlery, denoting the three eating utensils knife, fork, and spoon, with a single handle design, came into use in the 1830s. The word derives from the Old French coutelerie, “knife-making,” and was used in this sense from the 14th century. The German Besteck acquired the same meaning as modern cutlery around the same time. 18th-century encyclopedias still defined it as a container, etui, or case for storing small instruments or tool…