English
marshy
Marshy comes from Middle English mersch ‘a region of marshland or damp meadowland’, from Proto-West Germanic *mari ‘sea, lake’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *móri.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*móri‘sea’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*mari‘lake, body of water’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CEsame form‘sea, lake’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanic, derivedc. 200–500 CE*marisk‘lake-like, marshy’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150merisċ
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500merschas merssh‘a region of marshland or damp meadowland’
- Middle English, derivedc. 1150–1500merschyas mersshy
- Englishearliest quotation 1950marshy
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Earlier history uncertain.
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*móri‘sea’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*mari‘lake, body of water’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CEsame form‘sea, lake’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanic, derivedc. 200–500 CE*marisk‘lake-like, marshy’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150merisċ
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500merschas merssh‘a region of marshland or damp meadowland’
- Middle English, derivedc. 1150–1500merschyas mersshy
- Englishearliest quotation 1950marshy
Earliest quotation: 1950, R. C. J. Day and R. K. Kirkland, The Kelvedon & Tollesbury Light Railway: “Nearer the coast, the land becomes markedly more marshy,…”
Formed from marsh + -y
Proto-Indo-European *móri ‘standing water’
…
Proto-West Germanic *mari ‘sea, lake’
Proto-West Germanic *marisk ‘lake-like, marshy’
Old English mersċ ‘a marsh, bog, or swamp’
Middle English mersch ‘a region of marshland or damp meadowland’
English marsh
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *mer- ‘sea, lake, wetland’
remember, murder, mortality, mortal, nightmare, maritime, mortar, submarine, muller, morbid, mort, morn, mara, ambrosia, mariner, moribund, cormorant, marinara, 60 more
through Proto-Indo-European *móri ‘sea’
march, marine, moor, mare, marinate, maar, 17 more
through Proto-West Germanic *mari ‘sea, lake’
Today it means
adj Of, or resembling a marsh; boggy.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *móri / marshy