morass

The story

1. Proto-West Germanic · derived from*marisk
2. Old French · derived frommareis
3. Middle Dutch · derived frommarasch“marsh”
4. Dutch · borrowed frommoer“moor”
5. Dutch · borrowed frommoeras“marsh, swamp”
6. English todaymorass

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.

Words from the same roots