Tools with rows of teeth used for untangling and arranging hair; or the act of searching carefully through something.
From Old English 'camb,' related to Germanic and Indo-European roots; combs as a tool date back thousands of years, and the metaphorical 'comb through' (search) developed naturally from the careful pulling motion.
When we 'comb through' evidence or data, we're using the same word as the hair tool because both involve careful, methodical searching through tangled material—the metaphor is older than you'd think!
Complete word intelligence in one call. Free tier — 50 lookups/day.