moeras

Forms

moeras n (plural moerassen, diminutive moerasje n)^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle Dutch marasc, marasch, borrowed from Old French marasc (“marsh”), a northern Old French form beside maresc and mareis (modern French marais); Van der Sijs gives the source as Picard.^[2][3][4][5] The second vowel and the final stress of Middle Dutch ⟨marasc⟩ show that the word came through a northern French dialect.^[2][6] Middle Dutch also had mares, from the central Old French form.^[6]

The French word is itself Germanic, from Romance ⟨*mariscu-⟩, taken from Proto-West Germanic *marisk (“lake-like, marshy”), a derivative of *mari (“sea, lake”).^[3][7][1] De Vries names the source as Frankish *mariska.^[5] The same Germanic word gave Dutch meers “wet land” and English marsh, so that the two Dutch words are doublets.^[2][7][6][1]

The modern form with ⟨oe⟩, found since Kiliaan (1599), arose under the influence of moer “peat, bog”.^[2][5][7] Low German changed the word in the same way to ⟨moras⟩, the source of German Morast, Danish morads and Swedish moras.^[5][7]

Earliest recorded meaning

Middle Dutch marasc, marasch first appears in 1285, in a West Flemish text: a marsh lay all round the city.^[2][3] Another passage of 1285 has the Israelites encamped in a marsh by the Jordan opposite Jericho.^[3]

Semantic evolution

Middle Dutch also had morasch, recorded in 1407–32.^[2] Kiliaan in 1599 has moerasch and moorasch beside marasch.^[2][8] The Woordenboek der Nederlandsche Taal shows the older forms maresch, marasch and morasch dying out, until only moeras was left; in the Netherlands the word is now neuter, in Belgium also masculine.^[6]

From 1620 moeras is used figuratively of difficulties, evil or sin in which one is stuck, as in iemand uit het moeras helpen “to help someone out of a difficult situation”.^[6][9]

English morass (from the 1650s) probably comes from the Dutch word, and it replaced the older English mareis;^[5][10][11] Etymonline dates the figurative use to 1867.^[5][10][11]

Timeline

• 1285 – Middle Dutch marasc, marasch is first recorded, in West Flanders.^[2][3]
• 1407–1432 – The form morasch appears.^[2]
• 1599 – Kiliaan records moerasch, the form with ⟨oe⟩.^[2][12]
• 1620 – The figurative sense of a moral quagmire is recorded.^[6]
• 1650s – English morass appears.^[10]

Meanings

Noun

1. A swamp, marsh, wet ground into which one easily sinks: Achter het bos ligt een groot moeras.^[9][13][1]
2. (figurative) A morass, a difficult or confused situation from which it is hard to escape.^[13][9][6]

Word family

• moerassig
• moerasachtig
• moerasgas
• moerasmelkdistel
• moerasplant
• moerasvogel
• moerasvaren

Related words

• meers
• moer
• meer¹
• English morass
• English marsh
• German Morast

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Philippa, Marlies; Debrabandere, Frans; Quak, Arend; Schoonheim, Tanneke; Sijs, Nicoline van der (2003–2009), Etymologisch woordenboek van het Nederlands, 4 vols., Amsterdam: Amsterdam University Press; online via etymologiebank.nl
3. ^ a b c d e Pijnenburg, W. J. J., et al. (2001), Vroegmiddelnederlands woordenboek: woordenboek van het Nederlands van de dertiende eeuw in hoofdzaak op basis van het Corpus-Gysseling, Leiden: Instituut voor Nederlandse Lexicologie; gtb.ivdnt.org
4. ^ Sijs, Nicoline van der (2005), Groot leenwoordenboek, Utrecht / Antwerpen: Van Dale
5. ^ a b c d e f Vries, Jan de (1971), Nederlands etymologisch woordenboek, Leiden: Brill
6. ^ a b c d e f g Vries, Matthias de; Winkel, L. A. te, et al. (1882–1998), Woordenboek der Nederlandsche Taal, 29 vols., 's-Gravenhage / Leiden: Nijhoff / Sijthoff / SDU; supplement 2001; gtb.ivdnt.org
7. ^ a b c d Franck, Johannes; Wijk, Nicolaas van (1912), Franck's Etymologisch woordenboek der Nederlandsche taal, 2nd ed., 's-Gravenhage: Nijhoff
8. ^ Verwijs, Eelco; Verdam, Jacob (1885–1929), Middelnederlandsch woordenboek, 11 vols., 's-Gravenhage: Nijhoff; gtb.ivdnt.org
9. ^ a b c Van Dale Groot woordenboek hedendaags Nederlands (2014), Utrecht / Antwerpen: Van Dale Uitgevers
10. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
11. ^ a b Sijs, Nicoline van der (2010), Nederlandse woorden wereldwijd, Den Haag: Sdu; with additions from the Uitleenwoordenbank (2015)
12. ^ Sijs, Nicoline van der (2001), Chronologisch woordenboek: de ouderdom en herkomst van onze woorden en betekenissen, Amsterdam / Antwerpen: Veen
13. ^ a b WikiWoordenboek (Dutch Wiktionary), nl.wiktionary.org