/swɒmp/, /swɑmp/
OriginEarly 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.
- 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.)
“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 affo”
- figurativelyA place or situation that is foul or where progress is difficult.
“We two...in this swamp of iniquity...together we can bring redress to an unjust world.”
- USThe alleged corruption, cronyism, inefficiency, and entrenched interests in the federal government, especially in Washington, DC.
“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."”
- To drench or fill with water.
“The boat was swamped in the storm.”
- figurativelyTo overwhelm; to make too busy, or overrun the capacity of.
“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.”
- figurativelyTo plunge into difficulties and perils; to overwhelm; to ruin; to wreck.
“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[…]”
- AppalachiaTo clear (a road or an area) of brush, particularly so as to create a path for loggers to be able to access trees.
“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 tr”
Formsswamps(plural) · swomp(alternative) · swamps(present, singular, third-person) · swamping(participle, present) · swamped(participle, past) · swamped(past)