delves

Delves is a term with two main senses in English. As a noun, a delve refers to a mine shaft or exploratory tunnel—an opening created to access ore or connect underground workings. In historical mining contexts, delves were common features of adits and pits, and the plural delves denotes multiple such passages. As a verb, delve means to dig, excavate, or investigate deeply. In modern usage, people may use it for physical digging in mining or archaeology, as well as for thorough examination of a subject or set of records.

Etymology: Delve derives from Old English delfan, meaning to dig. The noun sense preserves that digging-origin in a specialized, historical register.

Usage: The noun sense is largely confined to historical, archaeological, or regional texts; in contemporary writing, terms like shaft, tunnel, or excavation are more common. The verb form is widely used across registers: researchers delve into manuscripts, investigators delve into data, and people delve into complex topics.

See also: delve (verb), delver, delving, mine shaft, excavation, digging.