English word origin

Etymology of delve

2 source sectionsExtended source reportWiktionary original ↗

In this entry · 2 source sections

The source etymologies

Wiktionary via Kaikki / Wiktextract

The source reports below are imported and unreviewed by *SET-U. Separate numbered origins and differing source variants are preserved; agreement within this extraction is not independent corroboration.

Source etymology 1

Original entry ↗

verb

To dig into the ground, especially with a shovel. · To dig; to excavate. · To search thoroughly and carefully for information, research, dig into, penetrate, fathom, trace out

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

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”).

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

Inherited-form mentiondelvenenm
Inherited-form mentiondelfanang · to dig, dig out, burrow, bury
Inherited-form mention*delbanągem-pro · to dig
Derivation mention*dʰelbʰ-ine-pro · to dig
Cognate mentiondollefy · to dig, delve
Cognate mentiondelvennl · to dig, delve
Cognate mentiondölvennds · to dig, delve
Cognate mentiondelbende

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

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      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "enm",
        "3": "delven"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle English delven"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ang",
        "3": "delfan",
        "t": "to dig, dig out, burrow, bury"
      },
      "expansion": "Old English delfan (“to dig, dig out, burrow, bury”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "gem-pro",
        "3": "*delbaną",
        "t": "to dig"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Germanic *delbaną (“to dig”)"
    },
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        "2": "ine-pro",
        "3": "*dʰelbʰ-",
        "t": "to dig"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Indo-European *dʰelbʰ- (“to dig”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "fy",
        "2": "dolle",
        "t": "to dig, delve"
      },
      "expansion": "West Frisian dolle (“to dig, delve”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "nl",
        "2": "delven",
        "t": "to dig, delve"
      },
      "expansion": "Dutch delven (“to dig, delve”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "nds",
        "2": "dölven",
        "t": "to dig, delve"
      },
      "expansion": "Low German dölven (“to dig, delve”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "de",
        "2": "delben"
      },
      "expansion": "German delben"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "delven",
      "delven#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "delfan",
      "delfan#Old_English"
    ],
    [
      "*delbaną",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/delbaną"
    ],
    [
      "*dʰelbʰ-",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/dʰelbʰ-"
    ],
    [
      "dolle",
      "dolle#West_Frisian"
    ],
    [
      "delven",
      "delven#Dutch"
    ],
    [
      "dölven",
      "dölven#Low_German"
    ],
    [
      "delben",
      "delben#German"
    ],
    [
      "telben",
      "telben#German"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "verb",
      "glosses": [
        "To dig into the ground, especially with a shovel.",
        "To dig; to excavate.",
        "To search thoroughly and carefully for information, research, dig into, penetrate, fathom, trace out"
      ],
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}

Source etymology 2

Original entry ↗

noun

A pit or den.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

From Middle English delve, delf, dælf, from Old English delf, ġedelf (“digging”) and dælf (“that which is dug out, delf, ditch”). More at delf.

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

Inherited-form mentiondelveenm
Inherited-form mentiondelfang

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

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    {
      "name": "inh",
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        "1": "en",
        "2": "enm",
        "3": "delve"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle English delve"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ang",
        "3": "delf"
      },
      "expansion": "Old English delf"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "delve",
      "delve#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "delf",
      "delf#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "dælf",
      "dælf#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "delf",
      "delf#Old_English"
    ],
    [
      "ġedelf",
      "gedelf#Old_English"
    ],
    [
      "dælf",
      "dælf#Old_English"
    ],
    [
      "delf",
      "delf#English"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "noun",
      "glosses": [
        "A pit or den."
      ],
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Where this record stops

This page does not supply an independently verified sound-change sequence, first-use manuscript or complete family tree unless a cited analysis explicitly establishes one. Missing detail here is a limit of this record—not a claim that humanity knows nothing more.

An older meaning does not determine what a word must mean today. Follow the sources, preserve disagreements, and keep ancestry separate from interpretation.

Contribute located evidence for delve →

Source and snapshot

Imported from Wiktionary contributors; extracted by Tatu Ylonen / Wiktextract / Kaikki.org. Selected fields are reformatted and grouped; wording, source identity and etymology sections are retained. CC-BY-SA-4.0 applies to the imported source material.

Dump: 2026-10-01 · Extracted: 2026-10-30. These are snapshot dates, not the word’s first attestation or the page’s revision date.

Source entry and bibliography ↗Wiktionary revision history ↗Acquisition and rights ledger

Machine-source provenance

Source SHA-256: 5ff2c072f8099f2d2ce484bd6957bf179f046d2ad37bc36555edf8bb84cb5291
Import run: 73216b9a9b78ed3830994bf853103716f5a4dc57099e371e9f8fdc468facca26
Permanent entry ID: w-ZGVsdmU