English Explanatory Dictionary

delve

English dictionary entry

Meanings

verb
  1. To dig into the ground, especially with a shovel.
  2. To dig; to excavate.
  3. To search thoroughly and carefully for information, research, dig into, penetrate, fathom, trace out
noun
  1. A pit or den.
name
  1. A surname from Old English.

Pronunciation

/dɛlv/ en-us-delve.ogg

Word forms

delve delves delving delved dolve dolven

Etymology

From Middle English delven, from Old English delfan (“to dig, dig out, burrow, bury”), from Proto-Germanic *delbaną (“to dig”), from Proto-Indo-European *dʰelbʰ- (“to dig”). Cognate with West Frisian dolle (“to dig, delve”), Dutch delven (“to dig, delve”), Low German dölven (“to dig, delve”), dialectal German delben, telben (“to dig, delve”).

Synonyms

investigate research

Related words

dolven stonedelf

Derived words

delver indelve undelve undelved

Translations

Asturian: cavar Bulgarian: копая Czech: rýt Czech: zrýt Czech: vyrýt Czech: kopat Czech: vykopat Danish: grave Dutch: delven Finnish: kaivaa French: creuser West-Frisian: dolle German: graben German: buddeln Greek: σκαλίζω Greek: σκάβω Hungarian: ás Icelandic: grafa (með skóflu, with a shovel) Icelandic: moka Italian: scavare Japanese: ほる Low German: dölven Norwegian: grave Persian: کندن Portuguese: cavar Romanian: săpa Russian: рыть Russian: копа́ть Swedish: gräva Ottoman Turkish: قازمق Ukrainian: рити Ukrainian: копати Welsh: cloddio
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