| 释义 |
delfn. Etymology: In α. forms cognate with or formed similarly to Middle Dutch ghedelf , gedelf ditch, pit, canal, act of digging or delving < the Germanic base of y- prefix + the Germanic base of Old Dutch delf (only in place names, apparently always with reference to canals or drainage ditches; Middle Dutch delf , delve (also dilf , dilve ) ditch, canal; Dutch †delf , Dutch regional (Zeeland) dulve ), Middle Low German delf (inflected form delv- ) ditch < the same Germanic base as delve v.; compare Old Frisian delfta , delft digging, damage done by digging (in legal contexts). In β. and γ. forms probably aphetic < α. forms. Compare delve n., and also stone-delf n. at stone n. Compounds 2a.Form history. It seems likely that the β. and γ. forms are aphetic in English, unlike unprefixed forms in continental Germanic languages, which may be inherited. In Old English only prefixed forms are attested in lexical use (with the sole exception of Old English underdelf undermining, in an isolated attestation, apparently derived independently < underdelfan underdelve v.). Unprefixed forms are attested from the first half of the 12th cent. onwards (earliest in place names: see below). In Middle English the prefix is only preserved in forms of the second element of the compound stone-delf n. at stone n. Compounds 2a (e.g. stanidelf ); it survives in such forms used as a place name (e.g. Stonydelph, Warwickshire), subsequently reanalysed as showing stony adj. The stem-final inherited voiced fricative was devoiced word-finally in Old English, but voicing was preserved before the vowel of the inflectional endings (although the consonant is spelt f in both positions). The resulting variation in the paradigm is continued in modern English in the plural delves at β. forms. An analogical singular was subsequently derived from this plural stem; compare discussion at delve n. Plural forms of the type delfs formed on the singular stem form (with voiceless consonant) are attested from early modern English onwards. The δ. forms probably show alteration after deverbal nouns in -t suffix3 (compare discussion of γ. forms at hest n.). Compare similar development in Dutch, where delft is attested in the 16th cent. in lexical use in the sense ‘canal’ and alterations of Dutch place names with delf are attested from the same period onwards (compare Assendelft and Delft : see Delft n.). (Old Frisian delfta , delft is probably to be interpreted differently as a suffixed derivative of the Germanic base.) Specific senses. In early use with reference to quarries (see sense 1b) the word is often attested in compounds with the first element specifying the substance that is quarried; compare e.g. Old English lēadgedelf (compare lead n.1) and also stāngedelf (see stone-delf n. at stone n. Compounds 2a and compare quot. OE at sense 1b). In sense 2 re-formed in the 16th cent. (probably after delve v.); there is no continuity of use with the Old English. Significantly earlier currency in sense 3b is probably implied by sense 3a, although the literal use denoting a cut turf is not attested until much later. Place names. Use as a boundary marker in Anglo-Saxon charters and in place names and field names is frequent. Use in names of canals and drainage ditches (compare sense 1a) is early, as in Dutch (compare discussion at Delft n.). Compare especially early attestation of the name of Kyngesdelf , Cynges dælf (first half of 12th cent. in a forged charter of 972), originally with reference to an artificial watercourse extending through the Fens from the vicinity of Ramsey in Huntingdonshire to the vicinity of Peterborough in Cambridgeshire, apparently so named because of its traditional association with King Cnut (now called Cnut's Dyke, although the name of King's Delph is preserved in several adjoining local place names). Quot. 1334-5 at sense 1a shows lexical use with reference to this watercourse (in a charter apparently forged before 1150). 1. the world > the earth > land > landscape > low land > hole or pit > [noun] OE Restoration of Sandwich to Christ Church (Sawyer 1467) in N. P. Brooks & S. E. Kelly (2013) 1148 Ælfstan..let delfon æt Hyppeles fleote an mycel gedelf & wolde þæt scipryne sceolde þærinne licgean eall swa hig dydon on Sandwic. 1334–5 ( Writ of Edward the Confessor, Ramsey (Sawyer 1110) in F. E. Harmer (1952) 263 Æl beo þe Gangestyde be east halfe þam dælue, & be west halfe be Hyndelake swa anan to Wendelesmere. tr. Palladius (Duke Humfrey) (1896) iv. l. 41 In forgh, in delf, in pastyne. c1503 R. Arnold f. lxiiij/1 Make a delf ther aboute..til thou com to the gret rote. 1557 Earl of Surrey et al. sig. Y.iv Daungerous delph depe dungeon of disdaine. 1661 S. Morgan ii. vii. 78 Judah extracting him out of that Delf or Pit which Ruben put him in. 1851 12 ii. 304 The fens are divided by embanked upland rivulets or ‘delphs’. 1877 E. Peacock Delf, Delft, a drain that has been delved..a pond, a clay-pit, a railway cutting, or any other large hole that has been delved out. 2003 N. Field in N. Field & M. P. Pearson i. 1/2 These [posts] were seen in June 1980 by Mr Vernon Stuffins who was metal detecting along the banks of the delph. society > occupation and work > workplace > places where raw materials are extracted > [noun] OE Bounds (Sawyer 563) in S. E. Kelly (2012) 459 Of Cullan byrg on þæt stan gedelf, of þam gedelfe on þone mærðorn. a1425 (c1395) (Royal) (1850) 2 Chron. xxxiv. 11 To bie stoonys hewid out of the delues [E.V. a1382 Douce 370 quarers]. 1588–9 c. 7 §4 Quarries or Delfes of Stone or Slate. 1692 J. Ray 78 In Coal Delfs and other Mines..the Miners are many times drowned out. 1732 in (1886) II. 156 The quarry or delf att Brownlow Hill sho'd be cut thorow. 1878 F. S. Williams (ed. 4) 390 Limestone..is dug from a quarry, or ‘delph’, some 30 to 50 ft. beneath the surface. 1963 H. Orton & W. J. Halliday I. ii. 384 Coal is got out of a mine, but stone out of a..[Lancashire, Yorkshire] delf. 1980 J. Porter ix. 116 Throughout the central Pennines however there are a great many small local quarries or ‘delphs’. the world > life > death > disposal of corpse > burial > grave or burial-place > [noun] a1500 (c1425) Andrew of Wyntoun (Nero) vi. l. 321 Þe graf qwhar in Charllis Marschel lay Þai ripit..Þe delf þai stoppit hastely, And away spede þaim speddely. a1500 (a1460) (1994) I. xxiii. 306 He rasyd Lazare out of his delfe. 1603 (Charteris) (1920) 45 The first freind, quhil he was laid in delf, He lufit ay far better than him self. society > occupation and work > industry > earth-moving, etc. > [noun] > digging or excavating the world > food and drink > farming > cultivation or tillage > breaking up land > [noun] > digging eOE tr. Orosius (BL Add.) (1980) ii. iv. 43 Æfter þæm Eufrate þa ea, seo..is irnende þurh middewearde Babylonia burg, he hie eac mid gedelfe on monige ea upp forlet. OE Ælfric (Royal) (1997) xxxvii. 499 Þærrihte æt þam forman gedelfe swegde ut ormæte wylspring. 1589 in J. Anderson (1899) 293 Entering him..be thre delffis of ane spaid upon the arabill landis thairof, as use is. 1600 R. Surflet tr. C. Estienne & J. Liébault iv. vi. 639 You must cut the vpper face and crust of the earth in Aprill, with a shallow delfe. 1846 H. Bliss 8 One who..Digs for the fount; though pride contemn the delf, And sneers nigh make the delver doubt himself; Till pure from deepest clay the waters burst, And sport in air, and feed a people's thirst. 3. society > communication > indication > insignia > heraldic devices collective > charge: device on shield > [noun] > abatement or mark of dishonour > types of c1500 Sc. Poem Heraldry (Harl. 6149) 165 in F. J. Furnivall (1869) i. 100 Ȝit in armes, pictes and delphes espy. 1562 G. Legh (1597) 73 He beareth Argent, a delff Geules. To him that revoketh his own challeng, as commonly we cal it eating his worde, this is giuen in token thereof. 1610 J. Guillim i. viii. 32 (margin) A Delfe for reuocation of challenge. 1688 R. Holme iii. 343/2 Some term..a Tile a Delfe because of its squareness, but in a Delfe there is nothing of a thickness. 1846 W. Newton xlvi. 390 In the centre..is borne the delfe. This is a square figure, which, according to Gerard Leigh, is an abatement adjudged ‘to him that revoketh his challenge’. 1969 J. Franklyn & J. Tanner 274/2 The shapes involved are: (1) the delf..conforming to the dimensions of a square, but having slightly concave sides.., which when tenné represented a shovelful of soil [etc.]. 1812 D. Souter App. 42 If a delph be cast up in a field that hath lien for the space of five or six years, wild oats will spring up of their own accord. 1825 J. Jamieson Suppl. (at cited word) A sod. In this sense the term delf is used, Lanarks. and Banffs. 1866 W. Gregor (Philol. Soc.) 37 Delf, a large space cut into turf, commonly peat-turf for fuel, or dyvots; as, ‘The twa o' thim keest a great big delf o' truffs’. the world > the earth > minerals > mineral deposits > [noun] > stratum or bed 1601 P. Holland tr. Pliny II. 409 Obserue the change of euery coat..of the earth as they dig, to wit from the black delfe, vntil they meet..the veins aforesaid. 1601 P. Holland tr. Pliny II. 415 Under the delfe of sand they met with salt. 1706 (new ed.) Delf of Coal, Coal lying in Veins under ground, before it is digged up. 1905 E. Hull (ed. 5) iii. 82 The Coleford High Delf is subject to rapid fluctuations in thickness, and is so soft that only about 2 feet can be extracted as large coal, the rest being slack or small. Compounds1776 lvii. 35 4s. 5d. by the name of lease-money and turf and delf money, at the feasts of the Annunciation of the Virgin Mary, St. John Baptist, and St. Michael, yearly. 1877 29 June 6/3 It would be costly to raise and strengthen all these delph banks, amounting in the aggregate to upwards of eleven miles. 1885 51 589/1 Certain land called delph land, beyond which were sandhills, protecting the property from the sea. 1974 D. Wilson 31 Delf rags, mining clothes. N Staffs. C2. 1792 10 105 Making a delf-ditch, twelve feet wide. 1875 5 Mar. 5/4 Inside the wall were delph ditches, with which other ditches communicated, to take off the water from the land. 1999 R. Malster 26/2 Delf ditch, a ditch alongside a river to carry drainage water into a lower section of the river, below either a mill or a lock. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2020; most recently modified version published online March 2022). <  n.eOE |
