Where does “spade-handed” come from?

spade-handed (English) comes from English handed, from English Hand, from Middle English hond, from Old English hand, from Proto-West Germanic handu, from Swedish hand, from Old Swedish hand, from Old Norse hǫnd — hand.

spade-handed (English): Having large, spatulate hands; Having hands that...

Definitions

  1. Having large, spatulate hands; Having hands that...

Ancestry of “spade-handed”, step by step

spade-handed traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via English handed

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishhandedHaving a certain kind or number of hands; Having...
2EnglishHandThe part of the forelimb below the forearm or wrist in a human, and the corresponding part in many other animals
3Middle Englishhondhand; Alternative form of hound
4Old EnglishhandA hand
5Proto-West Germanichanduhand
6SwedishhandA hand; A hand; the set of cards held by a player
7Old SwedishhandA hand; A direction; A behalf
8Old Norsehǫndhand
9Proto-Germanichanduzhand

via English spade

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishspadeA garden tool with a handle and a flat blade for...
2Italianspadeplural of spada
3Italianspataspathe
4Latinspathaspatula, spattle; spatha; a long, two-edged,...
5Ancient Greekσπάθηany broad blade, of wood or metal
6Proto-Indo-Europeansph₂-dʰ-—
Every word from Proto-Germanic handuz →Every word from Old Norse hǫnd →Every word from Old Swedish hand →