swamp
Part of speech: noun
verb
Morphological type: simple
Topics: government
politics
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.
Inflected forms:
form: swamps
pos: noun
tags: plural
form: swomp
pos: noun
tags: alternative
obsolete
form: swamps
pos: verb
tags: present
singular
third-person
form: swamping
pos: verb
tags: participle
present
form: swamped
pos: verb
tags: participle
past
form: swamped
pos: verb
tags: past
form: swomp
pos: verb
tags: alternative
obsolete
Senses:
gloss: 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.)
pos: noun
examples: Some small Marshes and Swamps there are, but more profitable than hurtfull.
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.
gloss: A place or situation that is foul or where progress is difficult.
pos: noun
tags: figuratively
examples: We two...in this swamp of iniquity...together we can bring redress to an unjust world.
gloss: The alleged corruption, cronyism, inefficiency, and entrenched interests in the federal government, especially in Washington, DC.
pos: noun
tags: US
examples: 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."
gloss: To drench or fill with water.
pos: verb
examples: The boat was swamped in the storm.
gloss: To overwhelm; to make too busy, or overrun the capacity of.
pos: verb
tags: figuratively
examples: I have been swamped with paperwork ever since they started using the new system.
"I'm being swamped now with calls from parents and young people who are upset that there are not many options for employment this summer," he said.
Mr. Spitzer’s defeat of his Democratic opponent […] ended a primary season in which Hillary Rodham Clinton swamped an antiwar challenger for renomination to the Senate.
It was only the outstanding Cech that stood between Arsenal and a second-half rout as Spurs simply swamped their opponents after the break with a formidable display of power, pace and sheer intensity.
All is well until Treorchy, where the platform is swamped 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.
gloss: To plunge into difficulties and perils; to overwhelm; to ruin; to wreck.
pos: verb
tags: figuratively
examples: The Whig majority of the house of Lords was swamped by the creation of twelve Tory peers.
Having swamped himself in following the ignis fatuus of a theory[…]
gloss: To clear (a road or an area) of brush, particularly so as to create a path for loggers to be able to access trees.
pos: verb
tags: Appalachia
examples: Nothing to it but clearing out underbrush and limbs so teams can get to the logs. […] If anyone asks, just tell him you've swamped roads ever since you was big enough to lift a hatchet.
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).
"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.
Related words: bog
bogmire
marsh
moor
fen
bayou
carr
everglade
lagg
mangal
mangrove
mire
morass
moss
muskeg
pakihi
peat bog
peatland
petary
pocosin
quag
quagmire
slack
slough
slue
sog
swale
swampland
syrt
syrtis
wash
wetland
salt marsh
salina
salting
Derived words: Asian swamp eel
backswamp
Bakers Swamp
Blackswamp
Brittons Swamp
Buckley Swamp
Chinese swamp cypress
data swamp
Dismal Swamp
drain the swamp
Emu Swamp
European swamp thistle
fever-swamp
fever swamp
food swamp
Greenswamp
Moggs Swamp
palaeoswamp
paleoswamp
peatswamp
Pinnacle Swamp
Reedy Swamp
Round Swamp
Six Mile Swamp
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 cat
swamp chestnut oak
swamp cicada
swamp cooler
swamp cottonwood
swamp crocodile
swamp crotch
swamp cypress
swamp deer
swamp donkey
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
swamp robin
swampside
swamp Spanish oak
swamp taro
swamp tiger
swamp tupelo
swamp wallaby
swampwatcher
swamp water
swampweed
swamp white oak
swampy
Tilley Swamp
swamp out
Translations:
lang: Bulgarian
word: заливам
roman: zalivam
lang: Czech
word: zaplavit
lang: Czech
word: zavalit
lang: Czech
word: zasypat
lang: French
word: submerger
lang: Galician
word: afogar
lang: German
word: überfluten
lang: German
word: überschwemmen
lang: Greek
word: πλημμυρίζω
roman: plimmyrízo
lang: Macedonian
word: пре́плави
roman: préplavi
lang: Māori
word: poke
lang: Māori
word: pokipoki
lang: Māori
word: popoki
lang: Māori
word: poki
lang: Māori
word: tāmomi
lang: Portuguese
word: afundar
lang: Romanian
word: copleși
lang: Slovene
word: preobremeniti
lang: Swedish
word: översvämma
lang: Turkish
word: bastırmak
lang: Turkish
word: yoğun olmak
lang: Turkish
word: içine su dolup batmak