Smallware

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. Small metal or household items such as utensils, tools, and fittings used in kitchens and domestic settings
2. Miscellaneous small implements and equipment including cutlery, trivets, and other functional kitchen or household articles
3. Minor hardware items and kitchen utensils that are essential for everyday cooking and household tasks

Etymology: "Smallware" is a plain compound of "small" and "ware," and its history is correspondingly straightforward. "Ware" is an old English word for manufactured goods or merchandise, so the compound literally names small manufactured articles, the sort of cheap, minor items a shop or peddler might carry. In practice the term has long been used for the haberdashery trade: tapes, ribbons, buttons, laces, pins, needles, and similar notions. Its meaning rests entirely on the two parts combined, so once you know that "ware" means goods, the whole word makes sense without further explanation.

Synonyms: haberdashery, notions