Etymograph

English

morass

Morass comes from Dutch moeras ‘marsh, swamp’, and goes back to Frankish *marisk.

  1. Frankishc. 250–700*marisk1‘marsh, swamp’reconstructed
  2. Medieval Latinc. 600–1500mariscus1
  3. Old Frenchc. 842–1400mareis2‘marsh’
  4. Middle Dutchc. 1150–1500marasch2
  5. Dutchc. 1500–presentmoeras3‘marsh, swamp’
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1853morass3

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Old French mareis
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Dutch moeras
  3. 3 Wiktionary, English morass
  4. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1853, John Ruskin, Torcello: “Seven miles to the north of Venice, the banks…”.

Lineage

  1. Frankishc. 250–700*mariskWiktionary, Old French mareis‘marsh, swamp’reconstructed
  2. Medieval Latinc. 600–1500mariscusWiktionary, Old French mareis
  3. Old Frenchc. 842–1400mareisWiktionary, Dutch moeras‘marsh’
  4. Middle Dutchc. 1150–1500maraschWiktionary, Dutch moeras
  5. Dutchc. 1500–presentmoerasWiktionary, English morass‘marsh, swamp’
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1853morassWiktionary, English morass. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1853, John Ruskin, Torcello: “Seven miles to the north of Venice, the banks…”

The story

The Middle Dutch word is a borrowing from Old French mareis, from Proto-West Germanic *marisk.

Full etymology on Wiktionary

Linked words

through Old French mareis ‘marsh’

marais

Today it means

noun A tract of soft, wet ground; a marsh; a fen.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “morass”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Old French mareis, Dutch moeras. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Frankish *marisk / morass

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