comb

comb
[OE] Comb is an ancient word, which has been traced back to an Indo-European *gombhos. This appears to have signified ‘tooth’, for among its other descendants were Sanskrit jámbhas ‘tooth’ and Greek góphos ‘pin, tooth’. In prehistoric West and North Germanic it became *kambaz, which produced English comb, German kamm, and Dutch kam (probably borrowed into English in the 18th century as cam, originally ‘projecting cog-like part on a wheel for transferring motion’). The Old English verb formed from comb lasted dialectally as kemb until the 19th century, but today it survives only in unkempt. The origin of the word’s application to honeycomb, first recorded in the 13th century, is not known. => OAKUM, UNKEMPT

The Hutchinson dictionary of word origins. 2013.

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Synonyms:
, / (for wool, hair, flax, etc.) / , (of a cock or bird) / , (of a wave) / , (with a comb), , , ,


Look at other dictionaries:

  • comb — comb1 [kōm] n. [ME < OE camb, comb, lit., toothed object < IE * g̑ombhos (> Sans jámbah, Gr gomphos, tooth) < base * ĝembh ,ĝombh , to bite, tooth] 1. a thin strip of hard rubber, plastic, metal, etc. with teeth, passed through the… …   English World dictionary

  • Comb — Comb, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Combed}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Combing}.] To disentangle, cleanse, or adjust, with a comb; to lay smooth and straight with, or as with, a comb; as, to comb hair or wool. See under {Combing}. [1913 Webster] Comb down his… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Comb — (k[=o]m; 110), n. [AS. camb; akin to Sw., Dan., & D. kam, Icel. kambr, G. kamm, Gr. ? a grinder tooth, Skr. jambha tooth.] 1. An instrument with teeth, for straightening, cleansing, and adjusting the hair, or for keeping it in place. [1913… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Comb — Comb, v. i. [See {Comb}, n., 5.] (Naut.) To roll over, as the top or crest of a wave; to break with a white foam, as waves. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Comb — Comb, Combe Combe (? or ?), n. [AS. comb, prob. of Celtic origin; cf. W. cwm a dale, valley.] That unwatered portion of a valley which forms its continuation beyond and above the most elevated spring that issues into it. [Written also {coombe}.]… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • comb — (n.) O.E. camb comb, crest, honeycomb (later Anglian comb), from W.Gmc. *kambaz (Cf. O.S., O.H.G. camb, Ger. Kamm, M.Du. cam, Du. kam, O.N. kambr), lit. toothed object, from PIE *gombhos, from root *gembh to bite, tooth (Cf …   Etymology dictionary

  • comb — [v1] arrange hair adjust, card, cleanse, curry, disentangle, dress, groom, hackle, hatchel, lay smooth, rasp, scrape, separate, smooth, sort, straighten, tease, untangle; concept 162 comb [v2] search by ransacking beat, beat the bushes*, examine …   New thesaurus

  • comb — ► NOUN 1) an article with a row of narrow teeth, used for untangling or arranging the hair. 2) a device for separating and dressing textile fibres. 3) the red fleshy crest on the head of a domestic fowl, especially a cock. 4) a honeycomb. ► VERB… …   English terms dictionary

  • Comb — Comb, n. A dry measure. See {Coomb}. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Comb — (spr. Kohm), englisches Getreidemaß, 100 C. = 265 preuß. Scheffel, 2 C. = 1 Imp. Quarter …   Pierer's Universal-Lexikon

  • Comb — (spr. kōm oder kūm), engl. Hohlmaß, s. Coom …   Meyers Großes Konversations-Lexikon

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