Definify.com
Webster 1913 Edition
Spade
1.
(Zool.)
A hart or stag three years old.
[Written also
spaid
, spayade
.] 2.
[Cf. L.
spado
.] A castrated man or beast.
Spade
,Noun.
1.
An implement for digging or cutting the ground, consisting usually of an oblong and nearly rectangular blade of iron, with a handle like that of a shovel.
“With spade and pickax armed.” Milton.
2.
[Sp.
espada
, literally, a sword; – so caused because these cards among the Spanish bear the figure of a sword. Sp. espada
is fr. L. spatha
, Gr. σπάθη
. See the Etymology above.] One of that suit of cards each of which bears one or more figures resembling a spade.
“Let
spades
be trumps!” she said. Pope.
3.
A cutting instrument used in flensing a whale.
Spade bayonet
, a bayonet with a broad blade which may be used digging; – called also
– trowel bayonet
. Spade handle
(Mach.)
, the forked end of a connecting rod in which a pin is held at both ends. See Illust. of
Knuckle joint
, under Knuckle
.Spade
(spād)
, Verb.
T.
[
imp. & p. p.
Spaded
; p. pr. & vb. n.
Spading
.] To dig with a spade; to pare off the sward of, as land, with a spade.
Webster 1828 Edition
Spade
SPADE
,Noun.
1.
An instrument for digging, consisting of a broad palm with a handle.2.
A suit of cards.3.
A deer three years old; written also spaid.4.
A gelded beast. [L. spado.]Definition 2024
spade
spade
See also: späde
English
Noun
spade (plural spades)
- 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.
- 1898, J. Meade Falkner, Moonfleet Chapter 4
- '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.'
- 1898, J. Meade Falkner, Moonfleet Chapter 4
- A playing card marked with the symbol ♠.
- I've got only one spade in my hand.
- (offensive, ethnic slur) A black person.
- A cutting instrument used in flensing a whale.
Related terms
Translations
a garden tool with a handle and a flat blade for digging
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one of the black suits in a deck of cards
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a black person
Verb
spade (third-person singular simple present spades, present participle spading, simple past and past participle spaded)
- To turn over soil with a spade to loosen the ground for planting.
Etymology 2
Compare spay, noun.
Alternative forms
- spaid
- spayade
Noun
spade (plural spades)
Anagrams
Dutch
Pronunciation
Etymology
From Middle Dutch spade, from Old Dutch *spado, from Proto-Germanic *spadô.
Alternative forms
Noun
spade m (plural spaden or spades)
Finnish
Noun
spade
- (military slang) field cook
Friulian
Etymology
From Latin spatha (“a type of sword”), from Ancient Greek σπάθη (spáthē, “broad blade”).
Noun
spade f (plural spadis)
Norwegian Bokmål
Etymology
From Middle Low German spade and Old Norse spaði, jarnspaði
Noun
spade m (definite singular spaden, indefinite plural spader, definite plural spadene)
- a spade (tool)
- kalle en spade for en spade - call a spade a spade
- a spadeful
- tre spader jord - three spadefuls of earth
References
- “spade” in The Bokmål Dictionary.
Norwegian Nynorsk
Etymology
From Middle Low German spade and Old Norse spaði, jarnspaði
Noun
spade m (definite singular spaden, indefinite plural spadar, definite plural spadane)
- a spade (tool)
- kalle ein spade for ein spade - call a spade a spade
- a spadeful
- ein spade sand - a spadeful of sand
References
- “spade” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.
Swedish
Etymology
From Old Norse spaði, from Middle Low German spade, from Proto-Germanic *spadō, from Proto-Indo-European *sph₂-dʰ-.
Noun
spade c
- a spade (tool)
Declension
| Inflection of spade | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Singular | Plural | |||
| Indefinite | Definite | Indefinite | Definite | |
| Nominative | spade | spaden | spadar | spadarna |
| Genitive | spades | spadens | spadars | spadarnas |
Related terms
References
- spade in Svenska Akademiens Ordlista över svenska språket (13th ed., online)