kemben

English

Noun

kemben (plural kembens)

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

Middle English

FWOTD – 22 March 2020

Alternative forms

• keembekemen, kemmen, kemyn

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

Conjugation of kemben (weak in -ed/-te)

infinitive	(to) kemben, kembe
	present tense	past tense
1st-person singular	kembe	kembed, kempte
2nd-person singular	kembest	kembedest, kemptest
3rd-person singular	kembeth	kembed, kempte
subjunctive singular	kembe
imperative singular		—
plural1	kemben, kembe	kembeden, kembede, kempten, kempte
imperative plural	kembeth, kembe	—
participles	kembynge, kembende	kembed, kempt, ykembed, ykempt

¹Sometimes used as a formal 2nd-person singular.

Derived terms

• kembestere
• kembynge

Descendants

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

References

• “kẹ̄̆mben, v.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 2018-08-31.