spade

Definition

A garden tool with a handle and a flat blade for digging. Not to be confused with a shovel which is used for moving earth or other materials.

Etymology

From Middle English spade, from Old English spada, spade, spadu (“spade”), from Proto-Germanic *spadô. Doublet of spatha, spathe, and épée.

Example Sentences

• "'Make your mind easy,' Ratsey said; 'I have dug too often in this graveyard for any to wonder if they see me with a spade.'"
• ""[...] And not a single spade has gone in the ground - not a single mile of track built.""