comber:
(plural: ‘combers‘; pronunciation: the letter ‘c’ is said with a ‘k’ sound as in “king”, and the letters ‘co’ rhyme with the letters ‘co’ in “coal” or ” coca cola” or “coke”; and the letter ‘b’ is silent — for the right pronunciation of this word, please click here)
a person (or a machine) that combs,
a comber combing wool with two combs
Woolworth tried to get a job as a wool comber at the new wool factory.
Comber noil or cotton comber noil is not a worker who combs cotton but the short fiber that falls off in the process of making cotton yearn, i.e. when the raw cotton is being combed, and the unspoiled mass of comber noil is used in making other cotton products and in making currency notes/bills.
In the past, cotton and wool combing was done by combers using combs but as machines have been introduced in factories, cotton and wool combing is also done by machines, and consequently, most of the combers have lost their livelihood.
beachcomber
combers (waves)
Note: ‘Comber’, always with a capital ‘c’, is often found in people’s names, e.g. Paddy Comber, William Comber, Gerald Comber, etc. For an interesting web page that gives us brief history of the origin of the surname ‘Comber’, please click here.
