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serbonian - 2 dictionary results

Ser⋅bo⋅ni⋅an

  [ser-boh-nee-uhn]
Use serbonian in a Sentence
–adjective
of, pertaining to, or designating the large marshy tract of land in the northern part of ancient Egypt in which entire armies are said to have been swallowed up.
Origin:
1660–70; < Gk Serbōní(s) (límnē) Serbonian (marsh) + -an
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Serbonian

Ser*bo"ni*an\, a. Relating to the lake of Serbonis in Egypt, which by reason of the sand blowing into it had a deceptive appearance of being solid land, but was a bog.

A gulf profound as that Serbonian bog . . . Where armies whole have sunk. --Milton.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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