delve
English · Français · Thesaurus
AI In plain words
Writing a short explanation…
Written by a house AI from the entry below, in your language. The entry itself is the source.
delve¹
- /dɛlv/
Rhymes with -ɛlv
Where it comes from
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”).
verb delves · delving · delved · dolve
- To dig into the ground, especially with a shovel. Delve of convenient depth your thrashing floor.
- To dig; to excavate. And then they made an oratory behind the altar, and would have dolven for to have laid the body in that oratory […]
-
To search thoroughly and carefully for information, research, dig into, penetrate, fathom, trace out
I cannot delve him to the root.
Similar: investigate, research
delve²
- /dɛlv/
Rhymes with -ɛlv
Where it comes from
From Middle English delve, delf, dælf, from Old English delf, ġedelf (“digging”) and dælf (“that which is dug out, delf, ditch”). More at delf.
noun delves
- A pit or den. the wise Merlin whylome wont (they say) / To make his wonne, low vnderneath the ground, / In a deepe delue, farre from the vew of day [...].
Delve³
Where it comes from
Topographic surname for someone who lived near a ditch or trench, from Old English dælf (“delf, ditch”).
proper noun Delves
- A surname from Old English.
Thesaurus
Closest in meaning: dig, turn over, cut into, excavate, immerse, plunge, dive, strip-search, widen, probe, deepen, elaborate, explore, frisk, search, dwell
Translations
Every language
verb to dig in the ground
| 日本語 | ほる |
|---|---|
| Português | cavar |
| Français | creuser |
| Deutsch | graben, buddeln |
| Italiano | scavare |
| Ελληνικά | σκαλίζω skalízo, σκάβω skávo |
| Română | săpa |
| Русский | рыть rytʹ, копа́ть kopátʹ |
verb to search carefully for information
| Español | ahondar / profundizar, hurguetear, adentrarse |
|---|---|
| Português | investigar |
| Français | fouiller |
| Deutsch | untersuchen, erforschen, ergründen, eintauchen, wühlen, sich befassen mit |
| Italiano | investigare, indagare |
| Ελληνικά | ερευνώ erevnó |
| Русский | ры́ться rýtʹsja, копа́ться kopátʹsja |
Talk about this word "delve." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/delve. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. delve. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/delve "delve." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/delve.Cite this
@misc{delve_2026,
title = {delve},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/delve},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
