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.
But the gombeen man wasn't "taking it lying down."
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
The arts as well as the crafts, the graces equally with the utilities must stand up in the marketplace and be judged by the gombeen men.
From The Crock of Gold by Stephens, James
The gombeen man refuses accounts to everyone but the priest, magistrate, doctor and teacher.
From What's the Matter with Ireland? by Russell, Ruth
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.
