comb

comb · noun, verb¹

1. Proto-Indo-European · inherited from*ǵómbʰos“tooth”
2. Proto-Germanic · inherited from*kambaz“comb”
3. Proto-West Germanic · inherited from*kamb
4. Old English · inherited fromcamb“comb”
5. Middle English · inherited fromcomb
6. English todaycomb

From Middle English comb, from Old English camb (“comb”), from Proto-West Germanic *kamb, from Proto-Germanic *kambaz (“comb”), from Proto-Indo-European *ǵómbʰos (“tooth”), a doublet of cam. The verb is derived from the noun and displaced the older verb kemb. Cognates Compare Saterland Frisian Koum, Swedish/Dutch kam, Danish kam, Norwegian kam, German Kamm; also Tocharian B keme, Lithuanian žam̃bas (“sharp edge”), Old Church Slavonic зѫбъ (zǫbŭ), Albanian dhëmb, Ancient Greek γομφίος (gomphíos, “backtooth, molar”), Sanskrit जम्भ (jambha)).

comb · noun²

From combination.

Words from the same roots