Eco-evolutionary semantics

What is in a name? Presumably a name should be clear and unambiguous, thereby nicely delineating what it does and does not include. After all, we should call a spade a spade, right? Or is it that simple? Perhaps a spade is instead a shovel or a trowel or a digger or a spud or a geotome. “Now wait a minute,” you might say, quoting Wikipedia: “the words spade and shovel should be held in contradistinction (piercing and digging [spade] versus scooping and moving [shovel]).” “Sure, […]