Meaning
A valley, often wooded and often with no river
Etymology
Origin: Old English
From earlier coom(e), coomb(e), from Middle English *coumbe, *cumbe, *combe, from Old English cumb, comb (“a low place enclosed with hills, dale, valley”), of obscure origin. Likely an adaptation of Old English cumb (“cup, basin; a liquid measure”) compare Dutch kom (“bowl, basin”), German Kumpf (“vessel, container”), but could also possibly be from, or influenced by, Celtic or Anglo-Norman/French; it is currently unclear, and may additionally be an example of a Wanderwort. Compare Welsh cwm (“a hollow valley”), Anglo-Norman cumbe (“a valley, a hollow”), Ancient Greek κύμβη (kúmbē, “hollow”), Sanskrit कुम्भ (kumbha, “a pot, jug”), etc. through Proto-Indo-European *ḱumbʰ-.
Synonyms & Antonyms
NYT Puzzle Appearances
No published puzzle dates on file for this word yet. It is part of the official NYT Spelling Bee word list for 2023, 2024, 2025, 2026.