Serbonian Bog

proper noun

A wetland in Egypt, famed for falsely appearing to be solid land.

OriginLatin Sirbonis Lacus ← Ancient Greek Σιρβωνίδος λίμνη →
Ask AI about this wordChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AIGrok

Meanings

proper nounthe Serbonian Bog

alternative Sirbonian Bog

  1. A wetland in Egypt, famed for falsely appearing to be solid land.
    1. broadlyAn inextricable situation.

      A gulf profound as that Serbonian bog […] Where armies whole have sunk.

      1667, John Milton, “Book II”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker […]; [a]nd by Robert Boulter […]; [a]nd Matthias Walker, […], →OCLC; republished as Paradise Lost in Ten Books: […], London: Basil Montagu Pickering […], 1873, →OCLC

Origin

  1. Ancient GreekΣιρβωνίδος λίμνη
  2. LatinSirbonis Lacus
  3. EnglishSerbonian Bog

Semantic loan from Latin Sirbonis Lacus, from Ancient Greek Σιρβωνίδος λίμνη (Sirbōnídos límnē).

More words from Latin, Ancient Greek

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

Serbonian Bog. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Serbonian%20Bog

MLA

“Serbonian Bog.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Serbonian%20Bog. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Serbonian Bog,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Serbonian%20Bog.

Source: Serbonian Bog on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.