Meaning

noun a hand tool for lifting loose material; consists of a curved container or scoop and a handle

noun the quantity a shovel can hold

noun a fire iron consisting of a small shovel used to scoop coals or ashes in a fireplace

originFrom Middle English schovele, schovel, showell, shole (> English dialectal shoul, shool), from Old English scofl (“shovel”), from Proto-Germanic *skuflō, *skūflō (“shovel”), equivalent to shove + -el (instrumental/agent suffix). Cognate with Scots shuffle, shule, shuil (“shovel”), Saterland Frisian Sköifel (“shovel”), West Frisian skoffel, schoffel (“hoe, spade, shovel”), Dutch schoffel (“spade,…

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 3.0