Plural of shovel; digging or lifting tools with a long handle and a wide, flat blade used to move dirt, snow, or other materials.
From Old English scofl, related to German Schaufel. The word originally described any scoop or digging implement. The -el ending is common in tool names in Germanic languages.
Shovels are so ancient that archaeologists find stone shovel-like tools dating back 10,000 years. The humble shovel has literally shaped civilization—from digging the first irrigation systems to building the Panama Canal.
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