A spade is a tool primarily used for digging, consisting of a long handle and a blade that is typically narrower and flatter than the blade of a common shovel. Spades tend to carry a sharpened edge, a curved profile and a pointed end, a design better suited to breaking and penetrating soil, while shovels are generally broader and built for scooping loose material rather than for digging into the ground.
Facts
Introduced When (Circa)Early spades were made of riven wood or animal bones such as shoulder blades; the source gives no more specific date than this early, pre-metal period. 1 OriginOne regional spade tradition is Ireland's loy plough, a form of manual ploughing carried out with a specialized spade called a loy. 1 Sources
1. Spade (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationHistory section, opening sentence
Early spades were made of riven wood or of animal bones (often shoulder blades).
History section, Loy ploughing subsection
Loy ploughing was a form of manual ploughing carried out in Ireland using a form of spade called a loy.
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