# morass

> English word · Noun · IPA /məˈɹæs/ · frequency rank #62,339

## Definitions
1. A tract of soft, wet ground; a marsh; a fen.
2. Anything that entraps or makes progress difficult.

## Etymology
From Dutch moeras (“marsh, swamp”), an alteration (with influence from Dutch moer (“moor”)) of a direct descendant of Middle Dutch marasch (“marsh”). The Middle Dutch word is a borrowing from Old French mareis, from Proto-West Germanic *marisk. Doublet of marish and marsh, and linked in part to moor. Compare quagmire.

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/morass