adelfan

From ā- +‎ delfan.

• IPA^(key): /ɑːˈdel.fɑn/, [ɑːˈdeɫ.vɑn]

ādelfan

1. to dig, delve, dig up, dig out
   • late 9th century, Old English Martyrology

     Sē Antonius ġesēah þǣs Paules sāwle swā hwīte swā snāw stīgan tō heofonum betweoh engla þrēatas; ond tweġen lēon ādulfan his byrġenne on þǣs wēstenes sande; þǣr resteð Paules līchoma mid yfellīċe dūste bewrigen, ac on dōmes dæġe hē ariseð on wuldor.

     Antonius saw Paul's soul, as white as snow, ascend to heaven among throngs of angels; and two lions dug his tomb in the sand of the desert. There lies Paul's body, covered by filthy dust, but on Judgement Day he will arise in glory.

• Joseph Bosworth, T. Northcote Toller (1898) “a-delfan”, in An Anglo-Saxon Dictionary, second edition, Oxford: Oxford University Press.