Buncome Hollow -meaning

[LowlanderDaughter]

I know of an area, too small to be called a town named Buncome Hollow (or spelled Buncombe Hollow). Is this a Scots word or phrase? If it is, what is it in English?

Thank you,
Rhonda

[WilmaM]

Doesn't sound Scots to me, more English I'd say.

A hollow is a low down part of land not as big as a valley, but not a term I remember seeing in Scotland.
The 'combe' part sounds more Cornish?

Linlithgow,a town in central Scotland, is said to mean "loch in a damp hollow" from llyn (loch), laith (damp) and cau (a hollow).

I'd be interested in other opinions as I can't think of a equivalent term in Scotland

[Tracey]

How do you know of this area to not know if it is in Scotland or of Scottish or Engish origin ? - if that makes sence

[Tracey]

Ok ignore the above, i am asuming its somewhere in the U.S and you are just interested in where the name or term comes from !

Wilma as the only Hollow i know (apart from the odd house that may have stables attatched to it ) is Sleepy Hollow the film but googling i saw this in Scotland http://www.sleepyhollowsmokehouse.com at Loch Ewe - made me hungry !

[Liz Turner]

Hi There

There's a reference to a cemetery in Clark County, Washington ...

http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~wacla ... ncombe.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Etna,_Washington

I'd suggest that maybe the "hollow" comes from it being a tiny place with only a smalll population, perhaps in a low-lying area surrounded by higher ground. The "Bunscombe" may relate to the place where the first people to live there came from, or it may be the name of someone??

Here's another link, with yet another idea ...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buncombe

There's also a possibility that it is linked to North Carolina.

Sorry this is probably not much help for you!

[LowlanderDaughter]

Prior to my dad's sudden death in October 1999 he was doing genealogy research on his grandparents, on his dad's side of the family. They lived in Buncomb Hollow from 1891 to 1904. It is in Clark County in the state of Washington (in the U.S.). It was so small that they didn't have their own post office, and their mailing address would be listed as the town of Etna because they had a post office.

A note my dad wrote in his papers "Bumcombe means 'good' in Scotch?"

From what you are telling me, it must be a different language. I wasn't interested in genealogy until two years ago. I wish I knew where he got that piece of information from.

Thank you for your input.

Rhonda

[Tracey]

Normal dictionary definitions of Buncombe
http://www.thefreedictionary.com/buncombe

buncombe [ˈbʌŋkəm]
n
a variant spelling (esp US) of bunkum

Noun 1. buncombe - unacceptable behavior (especially ludicrously false statements)

Says the same really on here http://www.dictionary.net/buncombe
Also on the above link there are some alternatives for Hollow. But nothing about the origin of the words. Maybe some words are just universal and not attributed to one place or language?

[Malcolm]

There are lots of place names in England, mostly in the South West, ending in ...Combe. There may not be a connection here but this is also the region from which the early settlers to the new world originated.
In old English, Combe and its variations means a short valley or a hollow in a hillside. There is also an old definition for Bun which means dry stalk. That could leave us with a hollow in a re-entrant where grass grows. Perhaps sort of place where shelter can be found or maybe set up an ambush!
The Scots also have a completely different definition but we could go on forever. Then there’s bunkum mentioned earlier, which is common parlance for nonsense. I had better stop there.
M

Ref :Chambers English Dictionary