Where does “spade” come from?
spade (Italian) comes from Italian spata, from Latin spatha, from Ancient Greek σπάθη, from Proto-Indo-European sph₂-dʰ-.
spade (Italian): plural of spada
Ancestry of “spade”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Italian | spata | spathe |
| 2 | Latin | spatha | spatula, spattle; spatha; a long, two-edged,... |
| 3 | Ancient Greek | σπάθη | any broad blade, of wood or metal |
| 4 | Proto-Indo-European | sph₂-dʰ- | — |