1. [n]  a sturdy hand shovel that can be pushed into the earth with the foot
2. [n]  a playing card in the major suit of spades
3. [n]  (ethnic slur) offensive name for a Black person; "only a Black can call another Black a nigger"
4. [v]  dig (up) with a spade; "I spade compost into the flower beds"

1. \Spade\, n. [Cf. {Spay}, n.]
   1. (Zo["o]l.) A hart or stag three years old. [Written also
      {spaid}, {spayade}.]
   2. [Cf. L. spado.] A castrated man or beast.
   

2. \Spade\, n. [AS. sp[ae]d; spada; akin to D. spade, G.
   spaten, Icel. spa[eth]i, Dan. & Sw. spade, L. spatha a
   spatula, a broad two-edged sword, a spathe, Gr. spa`qh. Cf.
   {Epaulet}, {Spade} at cards, {Spathe}, {Spatula}.]
   1. An implement for digging or cutting the ground, consisting
      usually of an oblong and nearly rectangular blade of iron,
      with a handle like that of a shovel. ``With spade and
      pickax armed.'' --Milton.
   2. [Sp. espada, literally, a sword; -- so caused because
      these cards among the Spanish bear the figure of a sword.
      Sp. espada is fr. L. spatha, Gr. spa`qh. See the Etymology
      above.] One of that suit of cards each of which bears one
      or more figures resembling a spade.
            ``Let spades be trumps!'' she said.   --Pope.
   3. A cutting instrument used in flensing a whale.
   {Spade bayonet}, a bayonet with a broad blade which may be
      used digging; -- called also {trowel bayonet}.
   {Spade handle} (Mach.), the forked end of a connecting rod in
      which a pin is held at both ends. See Illust. of {Knuckle
      joint}, under {Knuckle}.
   

3. \Spade\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Spaded}; p. pr. & vb. n.
   {Spading}.]
   To dig with a spade; to pare off the sward of, as land, with
   a spade.
   

Specification Processing And Dependency Extraction. Specification language. G.S. Boddy, ICL Mainframes Div, FLAG/UD/3DR.003