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Added 9 October 2026

morass

/məˈɹæs/ noun

In Latin: palūs Wiktionary

noun Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about morass at Wordnik → Where our words come from →

A tract of soft, wet ground; a marsh; a fen.
Anything that entraps or makes progress difficult.

Origin

From Dutch moeras (“marsh, swamp”), an alteration (with influence from Dutch moer (“moor”)) of a direct descendant of Middle Dutch marasch (“marsh”). The Middle Dutch word is a borrowing from Old French mareis, from Proto-West Germanic *marisk. Doublet of marish and marsh, and linked in part to moor. Compare quagmire.

From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)

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