Combe Explained

A combe (; also spelled coombe or coomb and, in place names, comb) can refer either to a steep, narrow valley, or to a small valley or large hollow on the side of a hill;^{[1] [2]} in any case, it is often understood simply to mean a small valley through which a watercourse does not run.^{[3] [4]}

The word "combe" derives from Old English cumb and is unrelated to the English word "comb".^[5] From Middle English coumbe, cumbe, from Old English cumb, ultimately from Proto-Germanic *kumbaz; compare Dutch kom (“bowl, basin”), German Kump (“vessel”). Related to Welsh cwm (“a hollow valley”), of identical meaning, through Proto-Indo-European *ḱumbʰ-.^[6]

Today, the word is used mostly in reference to the combes of southern^[7] and southwestern England.

Examples

The following is a list places in the British Isles named for having combes:

Notes and References

1. Encyclopedia: 2011 . Combe . Merriam–Webster's Dictionary . Merriam–Webster .
2. Encyclopedia: 2010 . Coomb . Webster's New World College Dictionary . Wiley Publishing, Inc . Cleveland, Ohio .
3. Encyclopedia: 2009 . Combe . Encarta World English Dictionary: North American Edition . Bloomsbury Publishing Plc .
4. Encyclopedia: 2010 . Coomb . Collins Pocket English Dictionary . HarperCollins Publishers Ltd . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20111018051032/http://collinslanguage.com/results.aspx?context=3&reversed=False&action=define&homonym=0&text=coomb . 2011-10-18 .
5. Encyclopedia: Comb . Century Dictionary .
6. Book: Gooden . Phillip . The Story of English . 2009 . Quercus . 22 . 9781847242723 . 27 December 2021.
7. Encyclopedia: 2010 . Coombe . Compact Oxford English Dictionary . Oxford University Press . https://archive.today/20140127235358/http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/combe?view=uk . dead . January 27, 2014 . A short valley or hollow on a hillside or coastline, especially in southern England..