combe
Sign in to saveAlso known as coombe, coomb, comb
thumb | right | alt=An example photograph of a Combe in Switzerland. | The "Combe de Dreveneuse" in Valais, Switzerland. A combe (; 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; in any case, it is often understood simply to mean a small valley through which a watercourse does not run.
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thumb | right | alt=An example photograph of a Combe in Switzerland. | The "Combe de Dreveneuse" in Valais, Switzerland. A combe (; 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; in any case, it is often understood simply to mean a small valley through which a watercourse does not run.
The word "combe" derives from Old English cumb and is unrelated to the English word "comb". 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-.