combing

• Homophones: coaming

combing

1. present participle and gerund of comb

combing (plural combings)

1. The act by which something is combed.

   My hair needs frequent combings; otherwise, it gets matted.

2. (in the plural) Individual hairs that drop out when the hair is combed.
   • 2011, Peter Manso, Reasonable Doubt:

     Weiner had prepared a rape test kit, taking swabs and smears orally, rectally, vaginally, anorectally, and paravaginally. He'd also collected blood, head and pubic hair combings, and left and right fingernail clippings.

combing (plural combings)

1. Alternative spelling of coaming
   • 1887, Harriet W. Daly, Digging, Squatting, and Pioneering Life in the Northern Territory of South Australia, page 194:

     I stole quietly to the combings of the hatchway, which was open, and we looked down into the 'tween decks.