This feminine plural adjective describes flax that has been combed or carded—processed through the preparatory stages of separating and aligning the fibers for spinning and weaving. Isaiah uses the term in his judgment oracle against Egypt, where workers in 'combed flax' will be dismayed when Egypt's economic infrastructure collapses. The word captures a specific stage in textile production, after the flax has been retted and broken but before spinning. It represents skilled labor and a significant sector of Egypt's economy, which depended on linen production. The combed flax workers' dismay symbolizes Egypt's comprehensive economic devastation.