combe
/kuːm/
Word Rarity
Very rare
Frequency: 2.46 in modern English
11
Scrabble Score
5
Letters
1
Syllables
5
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
A cirque.
Example Sentences
- "its long, latticed window [...] looked out on a wild spreading view of hill and heather and wooded combe."
- "gradual rise the shelving combe displayed."
- "You wake up next morning on what looks like Salisbury Plain, only here you climb up the side of every combe, round the end and out the other side."
Etymology
From earlier coom(e), coomb(e), from Middle English *coumbe, *cumbe, *combe, from Old English cumb, comb (“a low place enclosed with hills, dale, valley”), of obscure origin. Likely an adaptation of Old English cumb (“cup, basin; a liquid measure”) compare Dutch kom (“bowl, basin”), German Kumpf (“vessel, container”), but could also possibly be from, or influenced by, Celtic or Anglo-Norman/French; it is currently unclear, and may additionally be an example of a Wanderwort. Compare Welsh cwm (“a hollow valley”), Anglo-Norman cumbe (“a valley, a hollow”), Ancient Greek κύμβη (kúmbē, “hollow”), Sanskrit कुम्भ (kumbha, “a pot, jug”), etc. through Proto-Indo-European *ḱumbʰ-.
Origin
Word Breakdown
Regional Pronunciation
- British English: /kuːm/
Usage
Inflected Forms
combes (plural)
comb (alternative)
coomb (alternative)
coombe (alternative)
coom (alternative)
coome (alternative)