Contextualizebeta

quagmire

noun
/ˈkwæɡ.maɪə(ɹ)/UK/ˈkwæɡ.maɪɹ/CA/ˈkwæɡ.mɑɪə(ɹ)/

Etymology

Recorded since 1579, from quag + mire. The sense “perilous, mixed up and troubled situation” has been recorded since 1775. Alternatively, the word may apparently be a variation of the earlier quakemire, from quake + mire. Compare typologically Bulgarian тресавище (tresavište), Polish trzęsawisko, Russian тряси́на (trjasína) (akin to трясти́ (trjastí)); зыбь (zybʹ), зыбу́н (zybún) (<… Proto-Slavic *zybь).

  1. derived from *morwi-✻ — “ant”
  2. inherited from *miurijǭ✻ — “ant”
  3. inherited from *miurijā✻
  4. inherited from *mȳre✻
  5. inherited from mire
  6. formed as quagmire — “quag + mire”

Definitions

  1. A swampy, soggy area of ground.

    • That quagmire regularly ‘swallows’ caught-up hikers’ boots

  2. A perilous, mixed up and troubled situation

    A perilous, mixed up and troubled situation; a hopeless tangle.

    • The paperwork got lost in a quagmire of bureaucracy.
    • Those election results are a quagmire for any coalition except one of national union.

  3. To embroil (a person, etc.) in complexity or difficulty.

The neighborhood

Vish — recursive loop

No curated loop yet for quagmire. Loops are being traced one word at a time while the ingestion pipeline matures.

sense glosses and etymology drawn from English Wiktionary · source · CC-BY-SA