gombeen
Americannoun
Etymology
Origin of gombeen
1860–65; < Irish gaimbín interest, especially exorbitant interest, literally, bit, small piece, diminutive of gamba lump, hunk
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The business of the gombeen man is going, and one may well hope to see arise before long that thrift and energy characteristic of the peasant proprietor, whether in France, Belgium, or Lombardy.
From Ireland and the Home Rule Movement by McDonnell, Michael F. J.
His father had confided to him that they were in great debt to the gombeen man.
From What's the Matter with Ireland? by Russell, Ruth
The gombeen man refuses accounts to everyone but the priest, magistrate, doctor and teacher.
From What's the Matter with Ireland? by Russell, Ruth
I slackened and saw them drop into the road and there remain, mystified, no doubt, by the astonishing variety of scents, from goat to gombeen man, that presented themselves.
From In Mr. Knox's Country by Ross, Martin
"There's a hole in your pocket, Capt'n; stop it up with your fist, man," said Liza—she was a gombeen woman, and when she got a penny in her hand it was a prisoner for life.
From The Manxman A Novel - 1895 by Caine, Hall, Sir
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
