Etymologically
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morass

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 11 October 2026 at 18:28. This address is a permanent link to this version.
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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /məˈɹæs/, /moˈɹæs/[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Dutch moeras (“marsh, fen”),[2][3][4][5][6] an alteration, influenced by moer “moor”,[3][4][6] of Middle Dutch maras,[2][3][4][6] from Old French marais (“marsh”),[2][3][4][5][6] which is of Germanic origin,[2][5][6] probably Frankish.[3][4] It is related to marsh.[5][6]

Earliest recorded meaning

A wet, swampy tract of land; a bog or marsh (1655).[7][3][4][5]

Semantic evolution

It replaced earlier English mareis “marsh”.[3][4] The figurative sense of a confusing or entangling situation is recorded from 1867.[4]

Timeline

  • before 1338 – mareis, marshland.[3]
  • 1655 – a swampy tract.[7][3][4][5]
  • 1867 – figurative, an entanglement.[4]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. An area of low, soft, wet ground; a marsh or bog.
  2. A situation that traps, confuses or holds back progress.

Word family

  • morassy
  • marsh
  • marish

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i Barnhart, Robert K., ed. (1995), The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology, New York: HarperCollins
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Harper, Douglas, Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  5. ^ a b c d e f Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  6. ^ a b c d e f Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (1999), 2nd ed., New York: Random House
  7. ^ a b Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press