A combe (/kuːm/; 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
watercoursedoes 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:
^"Coombe". Compact Oxford English Dictionary. Oxford University Press. 2010. Archived from
the original on January 27, 2014. A short valley or hollow on a hillside or coastline, especially in southern England.
A combe (/kuːm/; 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
watercoursedoes 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:
^"Coombe". Compact Oxford English Dictionary. Oxford University Press. 2010. Archived from
the original on January 27, 2014. A short valley or hollow on a hillside or coastline, especially in southern England.