I. ˈdelv verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
Etymology: Middle English delven, from Old English delfan to dig, bury; akin to Old Saxon bi delƀan to bury, Old High German telban to dig, Lithuanian delba crowbar, Russian dolbit' to chisel
transitive verb
1. archaic : to make (as a ditch or hole) by digging : excavate
2.
a. now chiefly dialect Britain : spade
delve a garden
b. : to dig into : explore by or as if by digging
delving the garnered lore of centuries
intransitive verb
1.
a. : to dig or labor with or as if with a spade ; often : to labor as a drudge
b. : to seek laboriously (as in books or records) for information
2. of a slope or sloping way : to make a sudden descent : dip
Synonyms: see dig
II. noun
( -s )
Etymology: partly from delf, partly from delve (I)
1.
a. archaic : a place dug : pit , den
b. : a surface depression : hollow
2. : an act of digging