Movatterモバイル変換

[0]ホーム
URL:

Jump to content
WiktionaryThe Free Dictionary
Search

swamp

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary

English

[edit]
EnglishWikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia

Alternative forms

[edit]

Etymology

[edit]

Early attestations (starting in 1624)[1] are from North America,[2] but the term was probably in local use in Britain earlier.[2] The etymology is not entirely certain; it is probably a fusion ofMiddle Englishswam(“swamp, muddy pool, bog, marsh”, also “fungus, mushroom”) — fromOld Englishswamm(“mushroom, fungus, sponge”), fromProto-West Germanic*swamm, fromProto-Germanic*swambaz, *swammaz — andMiddle Englishsompe(“marsh, morass”), from eitherMiddle Dutchsomp,sump(“marsh, swamp”) orMiddle Low Germansump(“marsh, swamp”) (fromOld Saxon*sump(“swamp, marsh”)), both fromProto-West Germanic*sump, fromProto-Germanic*sumpaz. *Swambaz, *swammaz and *sumpaz are likely related to each other, but it is unclear whether they are of Indo-European origin or are substrate words or wanderworts.[3]

The word has alternatively been suggested to be a borrowing fromDutchzwamp(“swamp, marsh, fen”).[4] Other cognates includeMiddle Low Germanswamp(“sponge, mushroom”),Dutchzomp(“swamp, lake, marshy place”),German Low GermanSump(“swamp, bog,marsh”),GermanSumpf(“swamp”),Swedishsump(“swamp”). Related also toDutchzwam(“fungus, punk, tinder”),GermanSchwamm(“mushroom, fungus, sponge”),Swedishsvamp(“mushroom, fungus, sponge”),Icelandicsvampur,sveppur(“fungus”),Gothic𐍃𐍅𐌿𐌼𐍃𐌻(swumsl,“a ditch”). Related tosump,swim.

Pronunciation

[edit]

Noun

[edit]

swamp (pluralswamps)

  1. An area ofwet (water-saturated),spongy (soft)land, often withtrees, generally a rich ecosystem for certain plants and animals butill-suited for manyagricultural purposes.(A type ofwetland. Comparemarsh,bog,fen.)
    • 1624, John Smith,Virginia IV., page 163:
      Some small Marshes andSwamps there are, but more profitable than hurtfull.
    • 1954 February, Trevor Holloway, “Canada's Transcontinental Routes”, inRailway Magazine, page128:
      The vastswamps of Southern Ontario proved a grim nightmare to the construction gangs. Treacherous and seemingly bottomless, theswamps swallowed thousands of tons of timber and debris, yet still afforded no firm surface on which the track could be laid.
  2. (figurative) A place or situation that isfoul or whereprogress is difficult.
    • 2017, Cassandra Clark,Alchemist of Netley Abbey:
      We two...in thisswamp of iniquity...together we can bring redress to an unjust world.
  3. (US, politics) The allegedcorruption,cronyism,inefficiency, andentrenched interests in thefederal government, especially inWashington, DC.
    • 2025 July 10, Jesus Mesa, “'We've Been Played': MAGA Faces Its Own Disappointment With Trump”, inNewsweek‎[1]:
      On InfoWars, Alex Jones told his audience, "This is over the top sickening. Next they'll say Jeffrey Epstein never even existed. This is theswamp winning. No one is buying this."

Derived terms

[edit]

Descendants

[edit]

Translations

[edit]
type of wetland

See also

[edit]

Verb

[edit]

swamp (third-person singular simple presentswamps,present participleswamping,simple past and past participleswamped)

  1. Todrench or fill with water.
    The boat wasswamped in the storm.
  2. (figurative) Tooverwhelm; to make toobusy, oroverrun thecapacity of.
    I have beenswamped with paperwork ever since they started using the new system.
    • 1991 May 5, Stewart Ain, “Bottom Falls Out Of Summer Job Market”, inThe New York Times‎[2],→ISSN:
      "I'm beingswamped now with calls from parents and young people who are upset that there are not many options for employment this summer," he said.
    • 2006 September 13, Patrick Healy, “Spitzer and Clinton Win in N.Y. Primary”, inThe New York Times‎[3],→ISSN:
      Mr. Spitzer’s defeat of his Democratic opponent[…] ended a primary season in which Hillary Rodham Clintonswamped an antiwar challenger for renomination to the Senate.
    • 2018 February 10, Phil McNulty, “Tottenham Hotspur 1 - 0 Arsenal”, inBBC‎[4]:
      It was only the outstanding Cech that stood between Arsenal and a second-half rout as Spurs simplyswamped their opponents after the break with a formidable display of power, pace and sheer intensity.
    • 2024 November 13, Paul Bigland, “Much to admire... but pockets of neglect”, inRAIL, number1022, page48:
      All is well until Treorchy, where the platform isswamped by teenagers who have been attending an event. Around four dozen unescorted 12 to 16 year-olds swarm aboard and begin to run riot through the train. Their behaviour is appalling and the presence of CCTV no deterrent.
  3. (figurative) To plunge into difficulties and perils; to overwhelm; to ruin; to wreck.
    • 1874,John Richard Green,A Short History of the English People:
      The Whig majority of the house of Lords wasswamped by the creation of twelve Tory peers.
    • c.1835, William Hamilton, “Metaphysics and Moral Science”, inEdinburgh Review:
      Havingswamped himself in following the ignis fatuus of a theory[…]
  4. (Appalachia) To clear (a road or an area) ofbrush, particularly so as to create apath forloggers to be able to accesstrees.
    • 1954, W. E. Blackhurst,Riders of the Flood, page27:
      Nothing to it but clearing out underbrush and limbs so teams can get to the logs.[…] If anyone asks, just tell him you'veswamped roads ever since you was big enough to lift a hatchet.
    • 1976, Alicia Tyler,“Doin' a man's work”: Logging in central and southern counties between 1918 and 1930, page 26:
      I guess I've done it all. Drove teams, drove grabs (device used to fasten a trail of logs together),swamped (cleared the ground of underbrush and fallen trees for road construction).
    • 2006, Harold Farwell,Logging Terminology, page1021:
      "Hayburners," or horses, their "teamsters," and oxen driven by their "bullwhackers," all became outmoded, as did "crosspoling" logs across trails to make them sturdy and "swamping," or cutting, new trails to "snake" logs out of the forest.

Derived terms

[edit]

Translations

[edit]
to drench or fill with water
overwhelm

References

[edit]
  1. ^“swamp”, inMerriam-Webster Online Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.:Merriam-Webster, 1996–present.
  2. ↑2.02.1James A. H. Murrayet al., editors (1884–1928), “Swamp”, inA New English Dictionary on Historical Principles (Oxford English Dictionary), London:Clarendon Press,→OCLC.
  3. ^van der Sijs, Nicoline, editor (2010), “zomp2”, inEtymologiebank, Meertens Institute
  4. ^“swamp”, inDictionary.com Unabridged,Dictionary.com, LLC, 1995–present.

Anagrams

[edit]
Retrieved from "https://en.wiktionary.org/w/index.php?title=swamp&oldid=89513300"
Categories:
Hidden categories:
[8]ページ先頭
©2009-2026 Movatter.jp