Liberal Dictionary English Dictionary
gombeen [gom-been] ExamplesWord Origin noun Irish English.
Origin of gombeen 1860–65; Irish gaimbín interest, especially exorbitant interest, literally, bit, small piece, diminutive of gamba lump, hunk Examples from the Web for gombeen Historical Examples of gombeen
There are no “Gombeen men” here, he says, and no usurious shopkeepers.
Ireland Under Coercion (2nd ed.) (2 of 2) (1888)
William Henry Hurlbert
They vary in wealth and position from the humblest ‘gombeen man’ to the millionaire banker.
Rambles and Recollections of an Indian Official
William Sleeman
The “Gombeen” man is alike trader, publican, and money-lender, and he is the backbone of official Nationalist influence.
Various
Gombeen man; a usurer who lends money to small farmers and others of like means, at ruinous interest.
English As We Speak It in Ireland
P. W. Joyce
At Burtonport we found the “Gombeen man,” of Dungloe, represented by a very large “store.”
Ireland Under Coercion (2nd ed.) (1 of 2) (1888)
William Henry Hurlbert