From Old English camb, from PIE *ǵómbʰos 'tooth, peg' — the b was once pronounced.
A toothed strip of rigid material used for arranging or cleaning hair.
From Old English camb 'comb, crest,' from Proto-Germanic *kambaz 'comb,' from PIE *ǵómbʰos 'tooth, peg.' The silent b is original — it was once pronounced. The same root gives us Greek gómphos 'bolt, tooth' and the dental term 'gomphosis.' Key roots: *ǵómbʰos (Proto-Indo-European: "tooth, peg").