comb
/koʊm/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: 3.52 in modern English
10
Scrabble Score
4
Letters
1
Syllables
4
Unique Chars
Meaning
Example Sentences
- "There was also hairdressing: hairdressing, too, really was hairdressing in those times — no running a comb through it and that was that. It was curled, frizzed, waved, put in curlers overnight, waved with hot tongs;[…]."
- "Ctenophores are mostly planktonic creatures about the size and shape of a kiwi fruit or grape, bearing rows of beating "combs.""
- "I also obtained here a specimen of the rare green jungle-fowl (Gallus furcatus), whose back and neck are beautifully scaled with bronzy feathers, and whose smooth-edged oval comb is of a violet purple colour, changing to green at the base."
- "The head-dress of the Horse Grenadiers consists of a peculiar leather helmet with a comb of bear's skin passing over it from ear to ear and a long scarlet […]"
- "The armet has usually a low central cabled comb with parallel flutes on either side, occasionally there are three or five combs."
- "The combs or elbow pieces are beautifully made, and over the right armpit is […]"
Etymology
From Middle English comb, from Old English camb (“comb”), from Proto-West Germanic *kamb, from Proto-Germanic *kambaz (“comb”), from Proto-Indo-European *ǵómbʰos (“tooth”), a doublet of cam. The verb is derived from the noun and displaced the older verb kemb. Cognates Compare Saterland Frisian Koum, Swedish/Dutch kam, Danish kam, Norwegian kam, German Kamm; also Tocharian B keme, Lithuanian žam̃bas (“sharp edge”), Old Church Slavonic зѫбъ (zǫbŭ), Albanian dhëmb, Ancient Greek γομφίος (gomphíos, “backtooth, molar”), Sanskrit जम्भ (jambha)).
Origin
Word Breakdown
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /koʊm/
- British English: /kəʊm/