shovel

What it means

1. A hand tool with a handle, used for moving portions of material such as earth, snow, and grain from one place to another, with some forms also used for digging. In strict usage differentiated from a spade, which is designed solely for small-scale digging and incidental tasks such as chopping of small roots.

   It was said that such train crews kept a spare shovel on board because, on numerous occasions, the beginner had not only zealously thrown coal into the firebox but had let the shovel go as well.

   1943 July and August, T. Lovatt Williams, “Some Reminiscences of the Footplate—1”, in Railway Magazine, pages 233–234

2. A mechanical part of an excavator with a similar function.
3. USbroadlyespeciallyAny shovel in the above senses, or any spade.

In a sentence

It was said that such train crews kept a spare shovel on board because, on numerous occasions, the beginner had not only zealously thrown coal into the firebox but had let the shovel go as well.

1943 July and August, T. Lovatt Williams, “Some Reminiscences of the Footplate—1”, in Railway Magazine, pages 233–234

Where it comes from

1. Proto-Germanic*skublō
2. Proto-Germanic*skuflō
3. Old Englishsċofl
4. Middle Englishschovele
5. Englishshovel

From Middle English schovele, schovel, showell, shole (> English dialectal shoul, shool), from Old English scofl (“shovel”), from Proto-Germanic *skuflō, *skūflō (“shovel”), equivalent to shove + -el (instrumental/agent suffix). Cognate with Scots shuffle, shule, shuil (“shovel”), Saterland Frisian Sköifel (“shovel”), West Frisian skoffel, schoffel (“hoe, spade, shovel”), Dutch schoffel (“spade, hoe”), Low German Schüfel, Schuffel (“shovel”), German Schaufel (“shovel”), Danish skovl (“shovel”), Faroese skupla (“shovel”), Icelandic skófla (“shovel”), Norwegian skyfle (“shovel”), skyffel (“shovel, hoe”), Swedish skyffel, skovel (“shovel”). Compare typologically Russian пешня (pešnja) (akin to пиха́ть (pixátʹ)), сово́к (sovók) (akin to сова́ть (sovátʹ)).