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quicksand

noun
/ˈkwɪkˌsænd/US

Etymology

From Middle English quyksande, from Old English cwecesand (“quicksand”), equivalent to quick (“living”) + sand. Cognate with Swedish kvicksand (“quicksand”), Icelandic kviksandur, kviksyndi (“quicksand”). More at quick, sand.

  1. inherited from cwecesand — “quicksand”
  2. inherited from quyksande

Definitions

  1. Wet sand that appears firm but in which things readily sink, often found near rivers or…

    Wet sand that appears firm but in which things readily sink, often found near rivers or coasts.

    • My feet were firmly lodged in the quicksand, and the more I struggled the more I sank into it.

  2. Anything that metaphorically pulls one down or buries one

    Anything that metaphorically pulls one down or buries one; a treacherous, risky danger

    • the quicksands of youth

The neighborhood

Derived

quicksandlike, quicksandy

Vish — recursive loop

No curated loop yet for quicksand. 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