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morass

- 4 dictionary results

mo⋅rass

[muh-ras]
–noun
1. a tract of low, soft, wet ground.
2. a marsh or bog.
3. marshy ground.
4. any confusing or troublesome situation, esp. one from which it is difficult to free oneself; entanglement.

Origin:
1645–55; < D moeras, alter. (by assoc. with moer marsh; cf. moor 1 ) of MD maras < OF mareis < Gmc. See marsh
mo·rass   (mə-rās', mô-)   
n.  
  1. An area of low-lying, soggy ground.
  2. Something that hinders, engulfs, or overwhelms: a morass of details.

[Dutch moeras, from Middle Dutch maras, from Old French mareis, probably of Germanic origin; see mori- in Indo-European roots.]

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 fen.

Morass ore. (Min.) See Bog ore, under Bog.
Language Translation for : morass
Spanish: ciénaga,
German: der Morast,
Japanese: 低湿地

morass 
"wet, swampy tract," 1655, from Du. moeras "marsh, fen," from M.Du. marasch, from O.Fr. marais "marsh," from Frank., possibly from W.Gmc. *marisk, from P.Gmc. *mariskaz "like a lake," from *mari "sea." The M.Du. word was infl. by Du. moer "moor" (see moor (n.)). Fig. use is attested from 1867.
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