delf

American  

[delf] / dɛlf /

noun

plural

delfs

1. British. in some dialects, a pit, trench, or ditch.

2. British. in Northern England, a small mine or quarry.

3. Heraldry. a device, conventionally in the form of a plain square, that represents a shovelful of turf. Compare billet.

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Example Sentences

A whiff of peat-smoke; A gleam of delf on the dresser within; A woman’s voice crooning, as if to a child.

From The Mountainy Singer by MacCathmhaoil, Seosamh

With a little cry she descended, partly flying, partly falling, partly sliding flown the baluster—a whirl of superheated hair, swirling skirts, and wide, appealing eyes of delf blue.

From Double Trouble Or, Every Hero His Own Villain by Lowell, Orson

She with her apron wiped the plates, and, as she rubb'd the delf, Said I might "go to Jericho, and fetch my beer myself!"

From The Book of Humorous Verse by Wells, Carolyn

On the wall were a few samplers, a warming pan, and shelves with some common delf plates, and cups and saucers.

From Tom Brown at Oxford by Hughes, Thomas

He had heard a noise like the breaking of delf in the kitchen below, and he wondered if Bess had heard it too.

From The Empire Annual for Girls, 1911 by Buckland, A. R. (Augustus Robert)