1375,
acombren "obstructing progress," from O.Fr.
encombrer, from
combre "obstruction, barrier," from V.L.
*comboros "that which is carried together," perhaps from a Gaulish word. The roots are PIE
*kom (see
com-) +
*bher- "to bear" (see
infer). Meaning "unwieldy, hard to carry" is from 1594.