Literary notes about COMB (AI summary)
The word “comb” in literature assumes a range of meanings beyond its straightforward function as a hair tool. In many narratives, it is used to evoke personal care and intimate rituals—characters comb their hair as an act of gentleness or self-restoration ([1], [2], [3]). At other times, this familiar object becomes a potent symbol; its delicate, structured form recalls the order of a honeycomb, suggesting beauty and natural intricacy as seen in references that liken it to beeswax or ornamental displays ([4], [5]). Moreover, in folklore and fantasy it may carry magical properties, capable of reviving or restoring life ([6]), while in poetic imagery the comb is employed to accentuate features, likening strands of hair to elements of light and elegance ([7], [8]).
- Then I’ll give you mine; only remind me, not this one but another.” With a most serious expression she set to work to comb his hair.
— from The possessed : by Fyodor Dostoyevsky - There were the means of washing in the room, and a comb and brush to smooth my hair.
— from Jane Eyre: An Autobiography by Charlotte Brontë - Wash your face and comb your hair and put on your gingham.
— from Anne of Green Gables by L. M. Montgomery - Κηρίον, ου, τό, (κηρός, beeswax) a honeycomb; a comb filled with honey, Lu. 24.42.
— from A Greek-English Lexicon to the New Testament by William Greenfield - The judge was puzzled to decide, For nothing could be testified Save that around this honey-comb
— from Fables of La Fontaine — a New Edition, with Notes by Jean de La Fontaine - Then she took her magic comb, saying to it, “Comb, if you find Juan dead, revive him; if his legs and arms are broken, restore them.”
— from Filipino Popular Tales - Her hair sprang up from under the comb and the velvet ribbon and stood out like a halo; she had a turned-up nose and sly eyes.
— from Project Gutenberg Compilation of Short Stories by Chekhov by Anton Pavlovich Chekhov - Fifty strands of bright-yellow hair from one ear to the other, like to a comb of birch twigs or like to a brooch of pale gold in the face of the sun.
— from The Ancient Irish Epic Tale Táin Bó Cúalnge
