kemben

English

Noun

kemben (plural kembens)

  1. A torso wrap historically worn by women in Indonesia.

Middle English

FWOTD – 22 March 2020

Alternative forms

Etymology

From Old English cemban, from Proto-West Germanic *kambijan, from Proto-Germanic *kambijaną.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈkɛm(b)ən/, /ˈkeːm(b)ən/

Noun

kemben (third-person singular simple present kembeth, present participle kembynge, first-/third-person singular past indicative kempte, past participle kempt)

  1. To comb or brush one's hair; to use a comb.
    • a. 1400, Geoffrey Chaucer, “The Knight's Tale”, in The Canterbury Tales, lines 3690–3691:
      But first he cheweth greyn and lycorys / To smellen sweete, er he hadde kembd his heer.
      Though first he chews spices and licorice, / To smell sweet before he'd combed his hair.
  2. (rare) To prettify or nicen.
  3. (rare) To untangle fibres; to card.

Conjugation

Derived terms

Descendants

  • English: kemb (obsolete except for kempt, unkempt), comb (remodelled on the noun)
  • Scots: kem, keme
  • Yola: khimed (preterite)

References

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