swamp
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /swɒmp/
ipa: /swɑmp/
rhymes: -ɒmp
Forms: form: swamps
form: swomp
Etymology: Early attestations (starting in 1624) are from North America, but the term was probably in local use in Britain earlier. The etymology is not entirely certain; it is probably a fusion of Middle English swam (“swamp, muddy pool, bog, marsh”, also “fungus, mushroom”) — from Old English swamm (“mushroom, fungus, sponge”), from Proto-West Germanic *swamm, from Proto-Germanic *swambaz, *swammaz — and Middle English sompe (“marsh, morass”), from either Middle Dutch somp, sump (“marsh, swamp”) or Middle Low German sump (“marsh, swamp”) (from Old Saxon *sump (“swamp, marsh”)), both from Proto-West Germanic *sump, from Proto-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.
The word has alternatively been suggested to be a borrowing from Dutch zwamp (“swamp, marsh, fen”). Other cognates include Middle Low German swamp (“sponge, mushroom”), Dutch zomp (“swamp, lake, marshy place”), German Low German Sump (“swamp, bog, marsh”), German Sumpf (“swamp”), Swedish sump (“swamp”). Related also to Dutch zwam (“fungus, punk, tinder”), German Schwamm (“mushroom, fungus, sponge”), Swedish svamp (“mushroom, fungus, sponge”), Icelandic svampur, sveppur (“fungus”), Gothic 𐍃𐍅𐌿𐌼𐍃𐌻 (swumsl, “a ditch”). Related to sump, swim.
Senses: examples: text: Some small Marshes and Swamps there are, but more profitable than hurtfull.
ref: 1624, John Smith, Virginia IV., page 163
text: The vast swamps of Southern Ontario proved a grim nightmare to the construction gangs. Treacherous and seemingly bottomless, the swamps swallowed thousands of tons of timber and debris, yet still afforded no firm surface on which the track could be laid.
ref: 1954 February, Trevor Holloway, “Canada's Transcontinental Routes”, in Railway Magazine, page 128:
glosses: An area of wet (water-saturated), spongy (soft) land, often with trees, generally a rich ecosystem for certain plants and animals but ill-suited for many agricultural purposes. (A type of wetland. Compare marsh, bog, fen.)
examples: text: We two...in this swamp of iniquity...together we can bring redress to an unjust world.
ref: 2017, Cassandra Clark, Alchemist of Netley Abbey:
glosses: A place or situation that is foul or where progress is difficult.
examples: text: On InfoWars, Alex Jones told his audience, "This is over the top sickening. Next they'll say Jeffrey Epstein never even existed. This is the swamp winning. No one is buying this."
ref: 2025 July 10, Jesus Mesa, “'We've Been Played': MAGA Faces Its Own Disappointment With Trump”, in Newsweek:
topics: government
politics
glosses: The alleged corruption, cronyism, inefficiency, and entrenched interests in the federal government, especially in Washington, DC.
Derived terms: Asian swamp eel
backswamp
Chinese swamp cypress
data swamp
drain the swamp
European swamp thistle
fever-swamp
fever swamp
food swamp
paleoswamp
swampable
swamp angel
swamp antechinus
swamp ape
swamp ass
swamp azalea
swamp beacon
swamp beggar-ticks
swampbilly
swamp blues
swamp boat
swampbuster
swampbusting
swamp cancer
swamp chestnut oak
swamp cooler
swamp cottonwood
swamp crocodile
swamp crotch
swamp deer
swampdragon
swamp eel
swamper
swamp francolin
swampful
swamp gas
swamp gum
swamp harrier
swamphen
swamp holly
swampish
swampland
swampless
swamplife
swamplike
swamp lily
swamp maple
swamp milkweed
swamp monkey
swamp nigger
swamp oak
swamp oak tree
swamp orchid
swamp ore
swamp partridge
swamp pine
swamp pink
swamp pop
swampprivet
swamp-privet
swamp puppy
swamp rabbit
swamp rat
swampside
swamp Spanish oak
swamp taro
swamp tiger
swamp tupelo
swamp wallaby
swampwatcher
swamp water
swampweed
swamp white oak
swampy
Related terms: alt: bogland
word: bog
word: bogmire
alt: marshland
word: marsh
alt: moorland
word: moor
alt: fenland
word: fen
word: bayou
alt: carrland
word: carr
alt: glade
word: everglade
word: lagg
word: mangal
word: mangrove
alt: mireland
word: mire
word: morass
alt: mossland
word: moss
word: muskeg
word: pakihi
word: peat bog
word: peatland
word: petary
word: pocosin
word: quag
word: quagmire
word: slack
alt: sloughland
word: slough
word: slue
word: sog
word: swale
word: swampland
word: syrt
word: syrtis
word: wash
word: wetland
word: salt marsh
word: salina
word: salting