*SET-U

English word origin

Etymology of spade

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

3 source sectionsExtended source reportWiktionary original ↗
In this entry · 3 source sections

The source etymologies

Wiktionary via Kaikki / Wiktextract

The source reports below are imported and unreviewed by *SET-U. Separate numbered origins and differing source variants are preserved; agreement within this extraction is not independent corroboration.

Source etymology 1 · variant 1/2

Original entry ↗
verb

To turn over soil with a spade to loosen the ground for planting. · To move with a spade, or as with a spade.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

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

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

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  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "enm",
        "3": "spade"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle English spade"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ang",
        "3": "spada"
      },
      "expansion": "Old English spada"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "gem-pro",
        "3": "*spadô"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Germanic *spadô"
    },
    {
      "name": "doublet",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "spatha",
        "3": "spathe",
        "4": "épée"
      },
      "expansion": "Doublet of spatha, spathe, and épée"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "spade",
      "spade#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "spada",
      "spada#Old_English"
    ],
    [
      "spade",
      "spade#Old_English"
    ],
    [
      "spadu",
      "spadu#Old_English"
    ],
    [
      "*spadô",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/spadô"
    ],
    [
      "spatha",
      "spatha#English"
    ],
    [
      "spathe",
      "spathe#English"
    ],
    [
      "épée",
      "épée#English"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "verb",
      "glosses": [
        "To turn over soil with a spade to loosen the ground for planting.",
        "To move with a spade, or as with a spade."
      ],
      "tags": [],
      "recordId": "5d081f7b057e5027ab9e8edb03d5ceede540cb80e24b1866970d51d11343b5ad",
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    }
  ],
  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
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  }
}

Source etymology 1 · variant 2/2

Original entry ↗
noun

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. · A cutting instrument used in flensing a whale. · A device for terminating an electrical conductor resembling a small spade.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

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

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "enm",
        "3": "spade"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle English spade"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ang",
        "3": "spada"
      },
      "expansion": "Old English spada"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "gem-pro",
        "3": "*spadô"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Germanic *spadô"
    },
    {
      "name": "doublet",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "spatha",
        "3": "spathe",
        "4": "épée"
      },
      "expansion": "Doublet of spatha, spathe, and épée"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "spade",
      "spade#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "spada",
      "spada#Old_English"
    ],
    [
      "spade",
      "spade#Old_English"
    ],
    [
      "spadu",
      "spadu#Old_English"
    ],
    [
      "*spadô",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/spadô"
    ],
    [
      "spatha",
      "spatha#English"
    ],
    [
      "spathe",
      "spathe#English"
    ],
    [
      "épée",
      "épée#English"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [
    {
      "lang": "Scottish Gaelic",
      "lang_code": "gd",
      "word": "spaid",
      "raw_tags": [
        "borrowed"
      ]
    },
    {
      "lang": "Fiji Hindi",
      "lang_code": "hif",
      "word": "sipi",
      "raw_tags": [
        "borrowed"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "noun",
      "glosses": [
        "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.",
        "A cutting instrument used in flensing a whale.",
        "A device for terminating an electrical conductor resembling a small spade."
      ],
      "tags": [],
      "recordId": "f2dd48d144cc39bd7fc2b6191b4dac29e60f64d716f6efac8de341069e24c249",
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  ],
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}

Source etymology 2

Original entry ↗
noun

A playing card marked with the symbol ♠. · A black person.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

Probably from Italian spade, plural of spada (“the ace of spades”, literally “sword, spade”), from earlier *spata, from Latin spatha, from Ancient Greek σπᾰ́θη (spắthē). Cognate with Etymology 1. So called for the shape, though what the shape was exactly meant to represent has been debated.

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "bor",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "it",
        "3": "spade"
      },
      "expansion": "Italian spade"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "la",
        "3": "spatha"
      },
      "expansion": "Latin spatha"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "grc",
        "3": "σπᾰ́θη"
      },
      "expansion": "Ancient Greek σπᾰ́θη (spắthē)"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "spade",
      "spade#Italian"
    ],
    [
      "spada",
      "spada#Italian"
    ],
    [
      "spatha",
      "spatha#Latin"
    ],
    [
      "σπᾰ́θη",
      "σπάθη#Ancient_Greek"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "noun",
      "glosses": [
        "A playing card marked with the symbol ♠.",
        "A black person."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "ethnic",
        "offensive",
        "slur"
      ],
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}

Where this record stops

This page does not supply an independently verified sound-change sequence, first-use manuscript or complete family tree unless a cited analysis explicitly establishes one. Missing detail here is a limit of this record—not a claim that humanity knows nothing more.

An older meaning does not determine what a word must mean today. Follow the sources, preserve disagreements, and keep ancestry separate from interpretation.

Contribute located evidence for spade →

Source and snapshot

Imported from Wiktionary contributors; extracted by Tatu Ylonen / Wiktextract / Kaikki.org. Selected fields are reformatted and grouped; wording, source identity and etymology sections are retained. CC-BY-SA-4.0 applies to the imported source material.

Dump: 2026-10-01 · Extracted: 2026-10-30. These are snapshot dates, not the word’s first attestation or the page’s revision date.

Source entry and bibliography ↗Wiktionary revision history ↗Acquisition and rights ledger
Machine-source provenance
Source SHA-256
5ff2c072f8099f2d2ce484bd6957bf179f046d2ad37bc36555edf8bb84cb5291
Import run
73216b9a9b78ed3830994bf853103716f5a4dc57099e371e9f8fdc468facca26
Permanent entry ID
w-c3BhZGU