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Digging Up the History of Delve
We must dig deep into the English language’s past to find the origins of delve. The verb traces to the early Old English word delfan meaning “to dig.” For centuries, there was only delving—no digging—because dig didn’t exist until much later; it appears in early Middle English. Given dig and delve’s overlapping meanings today, is the phrase “dig and delve” (as in the line “eleven, twelve, dig and delve,” from the nursery rhyme that begins “one, two, buckle my shoe”) redundant? Not necessarily. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, in some local uses, dig was the term for working with a mattock (a tool similar to an adze or a pick), while delve was reserved for work done using a spade. Although delve has a history of use for literal digging, nowadays the term is often applied to carefully researching or examining something, as in “delving into the past.”
Examples of delve in a Sentence
Eric Lagatta, USA Today, 24 Apr. 2025
In a conversation on The Ringer Wrestling Show, Charlotte delved into the genesis of her in-ring name, revealing that her initial preference leaned towards a different name altogether.
—Thomas G. Moukawsher, MSNBC Newsweek, 24 Apr. 2025
Knowles delves further into this in Matriarch, recalling how her daughters reacted to the news.
—Shania Russell, EW.com, 22 Apr. 2025
The June 14, 2017 Times piece, written hours after a shooter opened fire on a congressional softball game, delved into harsh political rhetoric and its links to violence.
—Ted Johnson, Deadline, 22 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for delve
Cite this Entry
“Delve.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/delve. Accessed 3 May. 2025.
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