delve

[delv]

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verb (used without object), delved, delv·ing.

to carry on intensive and thorough research for data, information, or the like; investigate: to delve into the issue of prison reform.
Archaic. to dig, as with a spade.

verb (used with object), delved, delv·ing.

Archaic. to dig; excavate.

Origin of delve

before 900; Middle English delven, Old English delfan; cognate with Dutch delven, Old High German telban

Related formsdelv·er, nounun·delved, adjective

Synonyms for delve

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1. research, inquire, probe, examine, explore.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for delving

inquire, burrow, prospect, rummage, search, shovel, unearth, explore, dig, investigate, research, probe, examine, dredge, ransack, sift, seek, excavate, spade, trowel

Examples from the Web for delving

Contemporary Examples of delving

Delving deeper into this despair, photographs of “The Forgotten Ones” examine the lives of various groups of Latin American women.
In ‘Urbes Mutantes,’ Scenes From Latin America’s Transformations
Justin Jones
May 19, 2014
Delving into why this slaughter never happened uncovers a story of spy-craft, subterfuge and tightly-kept secrets.
The Woman Who Saved Syria’s Jews
Emma Beals
March 17, 2014
By delving into her own experience, Carucci was able to examine more deeply the universality of motherhood.
Elinor Carucci Captures the Messy, Beautiful Reality of Motherhood
Amy Zimmerman
November 23, 2013
I worked with Ann Roth as well, and it was the same approach to delving beneath the material.
Kate Bosworth Is Back and Crazy in Love
Erin Cunningham
November 5, 2013
Telling too much or delving too deep, would turn it into a drama.
Shirley MacLaine on ‘Bernie,’ ‘Downton Abbey,’ and Her Lifetime Achievments
Lorenza Muñoz
April 25, 2012

Historical Examples of delving

"Don't let her kid you, Barry," advised Cousin Jim, delving into his lobster.
The Innocent Adventuress
Mary Hastings Bradley
Spent all day plowing the low meadow, Peter delving potatoes.
A Son of Hagar
Sir Hall Caine
There, too, in the dim background, a weird shape is ever delving.
The Biglow Papers
James Russell Lowell
We were not delving deeply, not by any means—just picking off the nuggets, as it were.
Dwellers in Arcady
Albert Bigelow Paine
I was cast forth from my order because of my delving in black magic.
The Hour of the Dragon
Robert E. Howard

British Dictionary definitions for delving

delve

verb (mainly intr; often foll by in or into)

to inquire or research deeply or intensively (for information, etc)he delved in the Bible for quotations
to search or rummage (in a drawer, the pockets, etc)
(esp of an animal) to dig or burrow deeply (into the ground, etc)
(also tr) archaic, or dialect to dig or turn up (earth, a garden, etc), as with a spade

Derived Formsdelver, noun

Word Origin for delve

Old English delfan; related to Old High German telban to dig, Russian dolbit to hollow out with a chisel

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for delving

delve

Old English delfan "to dig" (class III strong verb; past tense dealf, past participle dolfen), common West Germanic verb (cf. Old Saxon delban, Dutch delven, Middle High German telben "to dig"), from PIE root *dhelbh- (cf. Lithuanian delba "crowbar," Russian dolbit', Czech dlabati, Polish dłubać "to chisel;" Russian dolotó, Czech dlato, Polish dłuto "chisel"). Weak inflections emerged 14c.-16c. Related: Delved; delving.