Shovelful
/ˈʃʌv.əl.fʊl/noun
The amount that fills a shovel.
Did you know?Unlike words with occult or cursed literal meanings, shovelful is a plain English compound—yet it preserves the ancient Germanic root behind shovel, a tool-word that has been in the language for centuries.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*skel-
“to split, cut, or separate”
Proto-Germanic
PGmc
*skubō / *skuflō?
“a digging or scooping implement (etymology of shovel is uncertain in the earliest stages)”
Old English
Old English
scofl
“a shovel or spade”
Middle English
English
shovel
“a digging or scooping tool”
Middle English
English
-ful
“full; as much as a container or implement will hold”
Modern English
English
shovelful
“the quantity a shovel can hold”