gombeen
English
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gombeen
- /ɡɒmˈbiːn/
Rhymes with -iːn
Where it comes from
Borrowed from Irish gaimbín (“monetary interest”).
noun gombeens
- Usury.
- A moneylender during the Great Famine. It was said by some that he had been a moneylender back in Ireland; a ‘gombeen’ in their slang: a hated figure.
- A mean, underhanded, corrupt person. Usually applied to politicians. "Could you give me two ounces of butter?" "Well, I don't know. We sell butter usually by the weight half pound or a pound." "Do you sell quarter pounds?" "Well, I think so." "Could you give me half a quarter pound?" "Yes." "Half a quarter pound then." Sebastian watching him. O you sly gombeen man. T
adjective
- Corrupt, underhanded. They were talking gombeen politics.
Talk about this word "gombeen." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/gombeen. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. gombeen. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/gombeen "gombeen." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/gombeen.Cite this
@misc{gombeen_2026,
title = {gombeen},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/gombeen},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
