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shov·el

(shŭvəl)

1. A tool with a handle and a broad scoop or blade for digging and moving material, such as dirt or snow.

2. A large mechanical device or vehicle for heavy digging or excavation.

3. The amount that a shovel can hold; a shovelful: One shovel of dirt.

v. shov·eled, shov·el·ing, shov·els also shov·elled or shov·el·ling

v.tr.

1. To move or remove with a shovel.

2. To make with a shovel: shoveled a path through the snow.

3. To convey or throw in a rough or hasty way, as if with a shovel: He shoveled the food into his mouth.

4. To clear or excavate with or as if with a shovel: shoveling off the driveway after the snowstorm; shovels out the hall closet once a year.

v.intr.

To dig or work with a shovel.

[Middle English, from Old English scofl.]

(click for a larger image)

shovel

left: ergonomic snow shovel

right: D-handle round point shovel

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

Indo-European Roots

Semitic Roots

The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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