SWAMP

I. noun Etymology: perhaps alteration of Middle English sompe, from Middle Dutch somp morass; akin to Middle High German sumpf marsh, Greek somphos spongy Date: 1624 a wetland often partially or intermittently covered with water, a tract of ~, a difficult or troublesome situation or subject, ~ adjective II. verb Date: 1784 transitive verb 1. to fill with or as if with water ; inundate , submerge , to overwhelm numerically or by an excess of something ; flood , to open by removing underbrush and debris, intransitive verb to become submerged