marsh

views updated Jun 27 2018

marsh / märsh/ • n. an area of low-lying land that is flooded in wet seasons or at high tide, and typically remains waterlogged at all times.DERIVATIVES: marsh·i·ness / ˈmärshēnis/ n.marsh·y adj.ORIGIN: Old English mer(i)sc (perhaps influenced by late Latin mariscus ‘marsh’), of West Germanic origin.

marsh

views updated May 23 2018

marsh A more or less permanently wet area of mineral soil, as opposed to a peaty area, e.g. around the edges of a lake, or on an undrained flood-plain of a river. Colloquially, ‘marsh’ is often used interchangeably with ‘swamp’ and ‘bog’.

marsh

views updated May 17 2018

marsh A more or less permanently wet area of mineral soil, as opposed to a peaty area, e.g. around the edges of a lake or on a flood-plain of a river. Colloquially, ‘marsh’ is often used interchangeably with swamp and bog.

marsh

views updated May 17 2018

marsh Flat, wetland area, devoid of peat, saturated by moisture during one or more seasons. Typical vegetation includes grasses, sedges, reeds and rushes. Marshes are valuable wetlands and maintain water tables in adjacent ecosystems. Unlike Bogs, they have alkaline not acidic soil. See also swamp

marsh

views updated May 23 2018

marsh OE. mer(i)sċ = MLG. mersch, marsch, MDu. mersch(e) (whence G. marsch, Du. marsk):- WGmc. *marisk-, whence medL. mariscus, the source of (O)F. marais, † mareis, adopted in ME. as mar(r)eis, mar(r)ais (XIV), alt. later to marish (XVI).
Hence marshy (see -Y1) XIV.

marsh

views updated May 21 2018

marsh A more or less permanently wet area of mineral soil (as opposed to a peaty area), typically found around the edges of a lake or on an undrained river flood-plain. Colloquially, ‘marsh’ is often used interchangeably with ‘swamp’ and ‘bog’.