kæmme

Danish

Etymology

From Old Norse kemba, from Proto-Germanic *kambijaną.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈkɛmə/

Verb

kæmme (imperative kæmme, infinitive at kæmme, present tense kæmmer, past tense kæmmede, perfect tense er/har kæmmet)

  1. to comb with a comb or a fine-tooth comb
  2. (by extension) to investigate exhaustively and meticulously to find all instances of something (as though delousing)
    • 1962, Børge Outze, Danmark under den anden verdenskrig:
      I løbet af de nærmeste dage ville Stalingrad falde; man skulle bare lige kæmme byen for russere!
      (please add an English translation of this quotation)
    • 2017, Ditte Cederstrand, Det skal vi huske dem, Lindhardt og Ringhof, →ISBN:
      Hvis hæren vinder osse der, hvor skal en sølle desertør så gøre af sig selv, at Gestapo kæmmer landet bagefter, så de jo i Frankrig.
      (please add an English translation of this quotation)

Derived terms

  • kæmning
  • finkæmme
  • vandkæmme
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