combe

Etymology

This word came into English from Middle English coumbe, cumbe, which developed from Old English cumb, ultimately from Proto-Germanic *kumbaz; compare Dutch kom (“bowl, basin”) and German Kump (“vessel”). It is related, through Proto-Indo-European *ḱumbʰ-, to Welsh cwm (“a hollow valley”), Ancient Greek κύμβη (kúmbē, “hollow”), Sanskrit कुम्भ (kumbha, “a pot, jug”), and others.