Swamp

Swamp
Swamp Swamp, n. [Cf. AS. swam a fungus, OD. swam a sponge, D. zwam a fungus, G. schwamm a sponge, Icel. sv["o]ppr, Dan. & Sw. swamp, Goth. swamms, Gr. somfo`s porous, spongy.] Wet, spongy land; soft, low ground saturated with water, but not usually covered with it; marshy ground away from the seashore. [1913 Webster]

Gray swamps and pools, waste places of the hern. --Tennyson. [1913 Webster]

A swamp differs from a bog and a marsh in producing trees and shrubs, while the latter produce only herbage, plants, and mosses. --Farming Encyc. (E. Edwards, Words). [1913 Webster]

{Swamp blackbird}. (Zo["o]l.) See {Redwing} (b) .

{Swamp cabbage} (Bot.), skunk cabbage.

{Swamp deer} (Zo["o]l.), an Asiatic deer ({Rucervus Duvaucelli}) of India.

{Swamp hen}. (Zo["o]l.) (a) An Australian azure-breasted bird ({Porphyrio bellus}); -- called also {goollema}. (b) An Australian water crake, or rail ({Porzana Tabuensis}); -- called also {little swamp hen}. (c) The European purple gallinule.

{Swamp honeysuckle} (Bot.), an American shrub ({Azalea viscosa} syn. {Rhododendron viscosa} or {Rhododendron viscosum}) growing in swampy places, with fragrant flowers of a white color, or white tinged with rose; -- called also {swamp pink} and {white swamp honeysuckle}.

{Swamp hook}, a hook and chain used by lumbermen in handling logs. Cf. {Cant hook}.

{Swamp itch}. (Med.) See {Prairie itch}, under {Prairie}.

{Swamp laurel} (Bot.), a shrub ({Kalmia glauca}) having small leaves with the lower surface glaucous.

{Swamp maple} (Bot.), red maple. See {Maple}.

{Swamp oak} (Bot.), a name given to several kinds of oak which grow in swampy places, as swamp Spanish oak ({Quercus palustris}), swamp white oak ({Q. bicolor}), swamp post oak ({Q. lyrata}).

{Swamp ore} (Min.), bog ore; limonite.

{Swamp partridge} (Zo["o]l.), any one of several Australian game birds of the genera {Synoicus} and {Excalfatoria}, allied to the European partridges.

{Swamp robin} (Zo["o]l.), the chewink.

{Swamp sassafras} (Bot.), a small North American tree of the genus {Magnolia} ({M. glauca}) with aromatic leaves and fragrant creamy-white blossoms; -- called also {sweet bay}.

{Swamp sparrow} (Zo["o]l.), a common North American sparrow ({Melospiza Georgiana}, or {M. palustris}), closely resembling the song sparrow. It lives in low, swampy places.

{Swamp willow}. (Bot.) See {Pussy willow}, under {Pussy}. [1913 Webster]


The Collaborative International Dictionary of English. 2000.

Игры ⚽ Нужен реферат?
Synonyms:

Look at other dictionaries:

  • swamp — [swɒmp ǁ swɑːmp] verb [transitive] 1. to suddenly give someone a lot of work or things to deal with: • The flood of orders swamped some understaffed trading desks. swamp be swamped (with something) • Brokers said they were swamped with calls… …   Financial and business terms

  • swamp — [swämp, swômp] n. [< dial. var. (or LowG cognate) of ME sompe, akin to MLowG swamp, Goth & OE swamm, fungus, mushroom < IE base * swomb(h)os, spongy, porous > Gr somphos, spongy] a piece of wet, spongy land that is permanently or… …   English World dictionary

  • swamp — 1624 (first used by Capt. John Smith, in reference to Virginia), perhaps a dialectal survival from an O.E. cognate of O.N. svoppr sponge, fungus, from P.Gmc. *swampuz; but traditionally connected with M.E. sompe morass, swamp, probably from M.Du …   Etymology dictionary

  • swamp — swamp; swamp·ber·ry; swamp·er; swamp·i·ness; …   English syllables

  • swamp|y — «SWOM pee, SWM », adjective, swamp|i|er, swamp|i|est. 1. like a swamp; soft and wet: »swampy ground. The front yard is swampy from the heavy rain. SYNONYM(S): boggy, marshy …   Useful english dictionary

  • Swamp — Swamp, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Swamped}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Swamping}.] 1. To plunge or sink into a swamp. [1913 Webster] 2. (Naut.) To cause (a boat) to become filled with water; to capsize or sink by whelming with water. [1913 Webster] 3. Fig.: To… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Swamp — Swamp, v. i. 1. To sink or stick in a swamp; figuratively, to become involved in insuperable difficulties. [1913 Webster] 2. To become filled with water, as a boat; to founder; to capsize or sink; figuratively, to be ruined; to be wrecked. [1913… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • swamp — [n] wet land covered with vegetation bog, bottoms, everglade, fen, glade, holm, marsh, marshland, mire, moor, morass, mud, muskeg, peat bog, polder, quag, quagmire, slough, swale, swampland; concept 509 swamp [v] overwhelm, flood beset, besiege,… …   New thesaurus

  • swamp|er — «SWOM puhr, SWM », noun. U.S. 1. a person who lives in a swamp or swampy region: »Everybody thought we were just a state of hillbillies and swampers (Time). 2. a) a person who works clearing roads for lumberjacks or clearing fallen trees of limbs …   Useful english dictionary

  • swamp — index immerse (plunge into), inundate, overcome (overwhelm) Burton s Legal Thesaurus. William C. Burton. 2006 …   Law dictionary

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”