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combe

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combe¹

  • /kuːm/ UK

Sounds like coom, cwm · Rhymes with -uːm

Where it comes from

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-.

noun combes · comb · coomb · coombe · coom · coome

  1. A valley, often wooded and often with no river its long, latticed window [...] looked out on a wild spreading view of hill and heather and wooded combe.
  2. A cirque.

Combe²

Where it comes from

From Old English cumb.

proper noun Combes

  1. countable, uncountable A surname.
  2. countable, uncountable A hamlet and civil parish (without a council) in West Berkshire district, Berkshire (OS grid ref SU3760).
  3. countable, uncountable A small village in Brixton parish, South Hams district, Devon (OS grid ref SX5452).
  4. countable, uncountable A hamlet near Scorriton, West Buckfastleigh parish, South Hams district, Devon (OS grid ref SX7068).
  5. countable, uncountable A hamlet in Malborough parish, South Hams district, Devon (OS grid ref SX7138).
  6. countable, uncountable A hamlet in Wadhurst parish, Wealden district, East Sussex (OS grid ref TQ6228).
  7. countable, uncountable A hamlet and civil parish in west Herefordshire, on the border with Wales (OS grid ref SO3463).
  8. countable, uncountable A village and civil parish in West Oxfordshire district, Oxfordshire (OS grid ref SP4116).
  9. countable, uncountable A hamlet in Huish Episcopi parish, Somerset, previously in South Somerset district (OS grid ref ST4128).

Translations

Every language

noun deep, narrow valley

Portuguêscomba
Françaiscombe

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Cite this
MLA

"combe." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/combe. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

combe. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/combe

Chicago

"combe." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/combe.

BibTeX
@misc{combe_2026,
  title = {combe},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/combe},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}