morass

morass
morass (n.) "wet, swampy tract," 1650s, from Du. moeras "marsh, fen," from M.Du. marasch, from O.Fr. marais "marsh," from Frankish, possibly from W.Gmc. *marisk, from P.Gmc. *mariskaz "like a lake," from *mari "sea" (see MERE (Cf. mere) (n.)). The word was influenced in Dutch by moer "moor" (see MOOR (Cf. moor) (n.)). Figurative use is attested from 1867. Replaced earlier mareis (early 14c.; see MARISH (Cf. marish)).

Etymology dictionary. 2014.

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  • Morass — Mo*rass , n. [OE. marras, mareis (perh. through D. moeras), fr. F. marais, prob. from L. mare sea, in LL., any body of water; but perh. influenced by some German word. See {Mere} a lake, and cf. {Marsh}.] A tract of soft, wet ground; a marsh; a… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Morass — may refer to: Marsh, a wetland Morass (set theory) This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the same title. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the …   Wikipedia

  • morass — [n] bog; mess chaos, confusion, fen, jam, jungle, knot, labyrinth, marsh, maze, mesh, mix up, muddle, quagmire, skein, snarl, swamp, tangle, web; concepts 230,509 Ant. order, organization …   New thesaurus

  • morass — ► NOUN 1) an area of muddy or boggy ground. 2) a complicated or confused situation. ORIGIN Dutch moeras, from Latin mariscus …   English terms dictionary

  • morass — [mə ras′, môras′] n. [Du moeras, a marsh, fen; earlier marasch < OFr maresc < Frank * marisk, a swamp, akin to MARSH] a tract of low, soft, watery ground; bog; marsh; swamp: often used figuratively of a difficult, troublesome, or perplexing …   English World dictionary

  • morass — mo|rass [məˈræs] n [Date: 1600 1700; : Dutch; Origin: moeras, from Old French maresc] 1.) [singular] a complicated and confusing situation that is very difficult to get out of ▪ We re trying to drag the country out of its economic morass. morass… …   Dictionary of contemporary English

  • morass — [[t]məræ̱s[/t]] morasses N COUNT: usu sing, with supp, oft N of n If you describe an unpleasant or confused situation as a morass, you mean that it seems impossible to escape from or resolve, because it has become so serious or so complicated. I… …   English dictionary

  • morass — noun Etymology: Dutch moeras, modification of Old French maresc, of Germanic origin; akin to Old English mersc marsh more at marsh Date: 1655 1. marsh, swamp 2. a. a situation that traps, confuses, or impedes < a legal morass > b. an overwhelming …   New Collegiate Dictionary

  • morass — n. to get bogged down in a morass * * * [mə ræs] to get bogged down in a morass …   Combinatory dictionary

  • morass — noun 1) the muddy morass Syn: quagmire, swamp, bog, marsh, muskeg, mire, marshland, wetland, slough, moor 2) a morass of paperwork Syn: confusion, chaos …   Thesaurus of popular words

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