definitions
  • synonyms

combe

or comb, coomb, coombe

[ koom, kohm ]
/ kum, koʊm /
|

noun British.

a narrow valley or deep hollow, especially one enclosed on all but one side.

Nearby words

combat-ready, combatant, combative, combatively, combativity, combe, combe-capelle man, combed yarn, comber, comber board, combinable

Origin of combe

Old English cumb valley < British Celtic; cf. cwm

Definition for coombe (2 of 2)

coomb

1

or coombe

[ koom, kohm ]
/ kum, koʊm /

noun

combe.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for coombe

British Dictionary definitions for coombe (1 of 2)

combe

comb

/ (kuːm) /

noun

variant spellings of coomb

British Dictionary definitions for coombe (2 of 2)

coomb

combe, coombe or comb

/ (kuːm) /

noun

mainly Southern English a short valley or deep hollow, esp in chalk areas
mainly Northern English another name for cirque

Word Origin for coomb

Old English cumb (in place names), probably of Celtic origin; compare Old French combe small valley and Welsh cwm valley
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for coombe

coomb

n.

also combe, "deep hollow or valley, especially on flank of a hill," mainly surviving in place names, from Old English cumb, probably a British word, from Celtic base *kumbos (cf. Welsh cwm in same sense). Cambridge Dictionary of English Place-Names says, "This is usually taken to be a Celtic loan ... but there was also OE cumb 'vessel, cup, bowl,'" which was "probably used in a transferred topographical sense reinforced in western districts by cwm."

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper