Combe

Short description: Type of valley used in place names

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 watercourse does not run.[3][4] The word "combe" derives from Old English cumb, of the same meaning, and is unrelated to the English word "comb".[5] It derives ultimately from the same Brythonic source as the Welsh cwm for 'valley'; pronounced [kʊm]), which has the same meaning.[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:

## References

1. ↑ "Combe". Merriam–Webster's Dictionary. Merriam–Webster. 2011. http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/combe.
2. ↑ "Coomb". Webster's New World College Dictionary. Cleveland, Ohio: Wiley Publishing, Inc. 2010. http://www.yourdictionary.com/coomb.
3. ↑ "Combe". Encarta World English Dictionary: North American Edition. Bloomsbury Publishing Plc. 2009. http://encarta.msn.com/encnet/features/dictionary/DictionaryResults.aspx?refid=561502913.
4. ↑ "Coomb". Collins Pocket English Dictionary. HarperCollins Publishers Ltd. 2010. http://www.collinslanguage.com/results.aspx?context=3&reversed=False&action=define&homonym=0&text=coomb.
5. ↑ "Comb". Century Dictionary.
6. ↑ Gooden, Phillip (2009). The Story of English. Quercus. p. 22. ISBN 9781847242723. https://books.google.com/books?id=RqFvXH9yUz8C&dq=cwm&pg=PA42. Retrieved 27 December 2021.
7. ↑ "Coombe". Compact Oxford English Dictionary. Oxford University Press. 2010. http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/combe?view=uk. "A short valley or hollow on a hillside or coastline, especially in southern England.".

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