gombeen

[ gom-been ]

noun

, Irish English.

1. usury.

Word History and Origins

Origin of gombeen¹

1860–65; < Irish gaimbín interest, especially exorbitant interest, literally, bit, small piece, diminutive of gamba lump, hunk

Example Sentences

Sports pundit Jarlath Burns said the use of "Gombeen Irish" had no place in the GAA.

From BBC

Gombeen′man, a grasping and usurious money-lender in Ireland.

From Project Gutenberg

I slackened and saw them drop into the road and there remain, mystified, no doubt, by the astonishing variety of scents, from goat to gombeen man, that presented themselves.

From Project Gutenberg

We passed Stephen Casey and the gombeen man cornering the disputed calves in the sympathetic accord that such an operation demands.

From Project Gutenberg

They disliked him, and he was an upstart and a gombeen man and a usurper, and such foolishness, in the mouths of every one of them.

From Project Gutenberg