English

Alternative forms

• delft
• delve

Noun

delf ‎(plural delves or delf)

1. A mine, quarry, pit dug; ditch
2. Alternative form of delftware Delftware

   • 1864, Browning, Robert, “Mr. Sludge, "The Medium"”, in Wikisource, line 832, retrieved 2012-01-18:

     That's all—do what we do, but noblier done— / Use plate, whereas we eat our meals off delf, / (To use a figure).

   • 1941, Sarah Atherton, Mark's Own, Bobbs-Merrill:

     Men can't munch from meatless pots and doughless delf.

References

Dutch

Pronunciation

Verb

delf

1. first-person singular present indicative of delven
2. imperative of delven

Old English

Etymology

From the verb delfan ‎(“to delve, dig, dig out, burrow, bury”), from Proto-Germanic *delbaną, from Proto-Indo-European *dhelbh-.

Noun

delf n ‎(nominative plural delf)

1. digging, excavation; what is dug, trench, quarry, canal

Declension

Derived terms

• delfere — digger
• delfīsen — spade
• delfung — digging
• gedelf — digging
• lēadgedelf — lead-mine
• underdelf — undermining
• ymbgedelf — digging round