Noun: gombeen
| Singular | gombeen |
| Plural | gombeens |
Sample Sentences
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It was said by some that he had been a moneylender back in Ireland; a ‘gombeen’ in their slang: a hated figure. [2002, Joseph O'Connor, Star of the Sea, Vintage, published 2003, page xix:]
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"Could you give me two ounces of butter?"
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"Well, I don't know. We sell butter usually by the weight half pound or a pound."
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"Do you sell quarter pounds?"
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"Well, I think so."
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"Could you give me half a quarter pound?"
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"Yes."
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"Half a quarter pound then."
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Sebastian watching him. O you sly gombeen man. The backs of these stores, most sordid places in the world. You stupid, intolerable oaf. [1955, J P Donleavy, The Ginger Man, France, published 1955 (France), page 108:]
Nouns inflected like gombeen
soldier's woundwort,
Nicosian,
whopper,
greypate,
tactile sign language,
chronotrope,
Rosie Lee,
dissentient,
photoinactivator,
sulphonediimine,
coastal waterfall,
residuary devise,
bituminization,
nitrosonaphthol,
smṛiti,
geosphere,
backscreen,
mensuralist,
flocculate,
flocculant, etc. (List truncated at 20 nouns)
Etymology
Borrowed from Irish gaimbín (“monetary interest”).
Verbs referencing "gombeen"
Old English Nouns
gombe.