1. spade => Greek spathe "a broad flat sword; any broad blade, of wood or metal" => spath- => spatul- (diminutive) "flat piece of wood, splint, -> shoulder blade" => espaul- (Old French) => epaul- "shoulder" => epaulet, epaulette (diminutive).
epaulet 肩章来自法语，词源同spade, 铲子，肩胛骨。后指肩章。拼写演变参照etude, study.
- epaulet (n.)
- also epaulette, "shoulder ornament on a uniform," 1783, from French épaulette "an epaulet" (16c.), diminutive of épaule "shoulder," from Old French espaule (12c.), from Latin spatula "flat piece of wood, splint," in Medieval Latin "shoulder blade," diminutive of spatha "broad wooden instrument, broad sword," from Greek spathe "a broad flat sword" (see spade (n.1)).
