"A tool for digging and cutting the ground, having a rather thick iron blade, usually flat, so formed that its terminal edge (either straight or curved) may be pressed into the ground or other resisting substance with one foot, and a handle, usually with a crosspiece at the top, to be grasped by both hands... a, Irish spade with foot-piece; b, Greek spade with foot-piece; c, Japanese spade; d, spade for cutting turf; e, ditching spades; f, post-spade for digging post-holes; g, polished drain-spade with foot-piece; h, long-handled garden spade; i, ditching-spade." —Whitney, 1889

Spades - a Collection of Various Types

"A tool for digging and cutting the ground, having a rather thick iron blade, usually flat, so formed…