bog en · NOUN · etymology 1
Pronunciation
- (US) audio
- /bɔɡ/ (General-American)
- bäg (cot-caught-merger)
- /bɑɡ/ (cot-caught-merger)
- /bɒɡ/ (Received-Pronunciation)
- (Australia) audio
- /bɑɡ/ (General-American)
- (UK) audio
- bäg (General-American)
- bôg (General-American)
- bŏg (Received-Pronunciation)
Etymology
Inherited from Middle English bog (originally chiefly in Ireland and Scotland), from Irish and Scottish Gaelic bogach (“soft, boggy ground”), from Old Irish bog (“soft”), from Proto-Celtic *buggos (“soft, tender”) + Old Irish -ach, from Proto-Celtic *-ākos. The frequent use to form compounds regarding the animals and plants in such areas mimics Irish compositions such as bog-luachair (“bulrush, bogrush”). Its use for toilets is now often derived from the resemblance of latrines and outhouse cesspools to bogholes, but the noun sense appears to be a clipped form of boghouse (“outhouse, privy”), which derived (possibly via boggard) from the verb to bog, still used in Australian English. The derivation and its connection to other senses of "bog" remains uncertain, however, owing to an extreme lack of early citations due to its perceived vulgarity.
Meanings
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An area of decayed vegetation (particularly sphagnum moss) which forms a wet spongy ground too soft for walking.
Near-synonyms: fen, slough, moor
Certaine... places [in Ireland]... which of their softnes are vsually tearmed Boghes.
1612, John Speed, chapter IV, in The Theatre of the Empire of Great Britaine, volume IV, page 143:U-Mos: 'The swamplands of Torvus are treacherous, and can hinder you considerably. Bear this in mind as you move through the bog.'
2004 November 15, Retro Studios, Metroid Prime 2: Echoes, Nintendo, level/area: Main Energy Controller (Great Temple):They that ride so... fall into foule Boggs.
1599 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Life of Henry the Fift”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act III, scene vii], line 56:[W]e entered a region where the stream widened out and formed a considerable bog.
1912, Arthur Conan Doyle, The Lost World […], London; New York, N.Y.: Hodder and Stoughton, →OCLC:You're dancing in quicksand Why don't you watch where you're wandering? Why don't you watch where you're stumbling? You're wading knee deep and going in And you may never come back again This bog is thick and easy to get lost in
1993, “Swamp Song”, performed by Tool:Bog may by draining be made Meadow.
a. 1687, William Petty, Political Arithmetick:[Cedar Bog] is a living museum of plants that once were spread over a far wider area. It is the southernmost such alkaline bog in North America, and teachers take their classes there to study this unique natural area.[…]
1974 02, “Boys' Life”, in (Please provide the book title or journal name), page 21:
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(qualifier:wetland science, specifically) An area of decayed vegetation (particularly sphagnum moss) which forms a wet spongy ground too soft for walking. ▸ An acidic, chiefly rain-fed (ombrotrophic), peat-forming wetland. (Contrast an alkaline fen, and swamps and marshes.)
Bogs are acidic peatlands, while fens are non-acidic peatlands. The thick mat of dead plants forms sphagnum moss and peat, which is where we get our peat moss. Over a long period of time, the bog may fill up and a forest will grow in[…]
2019 February 19, Sincere Humphrey, Freshwater Microbiology, Scientific e-Resources, →ISBN, page 24:Bogs are acidic peatlands, characteristic of boreal forests and mountainous regions (Figures 9.3 and 9.4). Their hydrology is precipitation driven as bogs do not receive floodwaters from neighboring rivers and streams[…]
2016 December 19, Ralph W. Tiner, Wetland Indicators: A Guide to Wetland Formation, Identification, Delineation, Classification, and Mapping, Second Edition, CRC Press, →ISBN, page 122:Bogs are acidic, nutrient poor, and have a low species diversity, whereas fens are less acidic and have higher nutrient levels and species diversity. Typically, the herbaceous layer in bogs is dominated by sphagnum moss, whereas[…]
1996, Geological Survey (U.S.), National Water Summary on Wetland Resources, →ISBN, page 214:
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(uncountable) An area of decayed vegetation (particularly sphagnum moss) which forms a wet spongy ground too soft for walking. ▸ Boggy ground.
He laughed each time a camel sank down, and he laughed as they strained and pulled and struggled to get the beast on to its clumsy feet again. So sure on sand, so clumsy in bog!
1931, Ion L. Idriess, Lasseter's Last Ride, Sydney: Angus and Robertson, page 101:
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(figuratively) Confusion, difficulty, or any other thing or place that impedes progress in the manner of such areas.
He wandered out again, in a perfect bog of uncertainty.
1841, Charles Dickens, chapter LXXII, in Barnaby Rudge, page 358:Last day my mind was in a bog.
a. 1796, Robert Burns, Poems & Songs, volume I:...quagmires and bogges of Romish superstition...
1614, John King, Vitis Palatina, page 30:
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(Australia, Ireland, New-Zealand, UK, slang) A place to defecate: originally specifically a latrine or outhouse but now used for any toilet.
I'm on the bog
Fearing I should catch cold, they out of pity covered me warm in a Bogg-house.
1665, Richard Head et al., The English Rogue Described in the Life of Meriton Latroon, volume I:I'm in the bog
...That no dirt... be thrown out of any window, or down the bogs...
a. 1789, Verses to John Howard F.R.S. on His State of Prisons and Lazarettos, published 1789, page 181:Bog, or bog-house, a privy as distinguished from a water-closet.
1864, J.C. Hotten, The Slang Dictionary, page 79:Our lodger had our upstairs, use of the stove, our tap, and our bog.
1959, William Golding, chapter I, in Free Fall, page 23:
- (Australia, New-Zealand, slang) An act or instance of defecation.
- (US, dialectal) A little elevated spot or clump of earth, roots, and grass, in a marsh or swamp.
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(US) Chicken bog.
I love Chicken Bog because it's one of those very regional recipes that has survived […] Don't skim or otherwise remove the fat from the stock though—it will help flavor the bog. Let the chicken cool and then pick the meat, setting it aside for the bog recipe that follows. The broth will[…]
2016 October 1, Elliott Moss, Buxton Hall Barbecue's Book of Smoke: Wood-Smoked Meat, Sides, and More, Voyageur Press, →ISBN, page 113:Chicken and rice bog for their supper so she wouldn't have to cook.
2018, Ann W Phillips, Lady Of Esterbrooke:Damon does emphasize that great red rice should always be fluffy and never mushy like a rice bog.
2013, James Villas, Southern Fried: More Than 150 Recipes for Crab Cakes, Fried Chicken, Hush Puppies, and More, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, →ISBN, page 196:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| boghe | alternative | lexicographic | |
| bogg | alternative | lexicographic | |
| bogge | alternative | lexicographic | |
| bogs | Number=Plur | lexicographic |
Coordinates
water meadow · flood meadow · callow · flood meadow · callow · water meadow · flood meadow · callow · water meadow
Deriveds
bog fir · bog hay · boglike · bog gas · bog bilberry · bog Latin · bog-pit · boggo · bog berry · bog-black · bog earth · bogwort · cutaway bog · bog paper · bog orange · bog beacon · bog-way · bog trefoil · bogtrotting · bog-trot · bograt · bog-water · bog onion · blanket bog · boghole · boghead · bog-blitter · boggish · bog-wheel · bog pink · bog-mould · peat bog · bog-pine · bog asphodel · bog body · bog chisel · boghouse · bog peat · bog-hole · bog ore · bogger · string bog · bog roll · bog-brained · boggard · bogberry · bogmire · bog mine · bog turtle · bull-of-the-bog · bog bean · boggy · bogroll · bog arum · raised bog · bog oak · bog-bumper · bogginess · bog spavin · Boglander · Bogland · chicken bog · bog cotton · bog butter · featherbed bog · bog brush · bog moss · bog myrtle · bog people · bogless · bog garden · bogsucker · bog standard · bog-bred · bog orchid · bog iron · bog mine ore · cataract bog · bog-head · bog-mold · mud bog · bog rosemary · bogspaving · bog nut · embog · bog violet · bog-turf · quaking bog · floating bog · bog stalker · bog-shop · boghaunter · bog clubmoss · northern bog lemming · bog iron ore · bog-butter · bog meadow · boglet · bog cinquefoil · bog manganese · bog orchis · bog deal · bog-bluiter · bogman · bogrush · boggify · unbog · bog laurel · bog blueberry · Boghead · bogwood · bog-down · bogland · bog pimpernel · bog-timber · bog snorkeling · peatbog · bog-hay · bog person · bogtrotter · bog-jumper · bog Irish · boglander · bog-plant
Hyponyms
boglet (small marsh)
Relateds
boggy (like a marsh) · boggish (like a marsh) · boggify (to create a marsh) · bog-standard · bogginess (marshy quality)
Synonyms
moor · swamp · mire · fen · marsh · swamp · morass (any place or thing that impedes progress) · swamp · quagmire (any place or thing that impedes progress) · mire (any place or thing that impedes progress) · fen · moor · slough · marsh · fen · mire · moor · morass. See swamp (wet spongy areas or ground) · marsh · mire · slough · slough
Translations (96)
lv muklājs (expanse of marshland) · nb myr (expanse of marshland) · pl torfowisko (expanse of marshland) · tl kuminoy (expanse of marshland) · cjs сас (expanse of marshland) · nb sump (expanse of marshland) · he ביצה (expanse of marshland) · be бало́та (expanse of marshland) · cmn 沼澤 /沼泽 (expanse of marshland) · es ciénega (expanse of marshland) · gl tremedal (expanse of marshland) · cs mokřina (expanse of marshland) · af vlei (expanse of marshland) · ota خلاش (expanse of marshland) · es ciénego (expanse of marshland) · la lāma (expanse of marshland) · gv curragh (expanse of marshland) · ar مستنقع (expanse of marshland) · uk боло́то (expanse of marshland) · txb kärkkālle (expanse of marshland) · az sucuq (expanse of marshland) · ml ചതുപ്പ് (expanse of marshland) · mn намаг (expanse of marshland) · eo marĉejo (expanse of marshland) · gl trémbora (expanse of marshland) · ru топь (expanse of marshland) · cs rašeliniště (expanse of marshland) · fi neva (expanse of marshland) · hu mocsár (expanse of marshland) · cy cors (expanse of marshland) · es cenagal (expanse of marshland) · cs bažina (expanse of marshland) · ota باتاق (expanse of marshland) · hu láp (expanse of marshland) · af moeras (expanse of marshland) · tr bataklık (expanse of marshland) · eu zohikaztegi (expanse of marshland) · fa خلاش (expanse of marshland) · cy mign (expanse of marshland) · it palude (expanse of marshland) · cs močál (expanse of marshland) · pl błoto (expanse of marshland) · eo marĉo (expanse of marshland) · lv purvs (expanse of marshland) · lv staignums (expanse of marshland) · ga bogach (expanse of marshland) · kum батмакъ (expanse of marshland) · de Hochmoor (expanse of marshland) · pl bajoro (expanse of marshland) · et raba (expanse of marshland) · es ciénaga (expanse of marshland) · sv myr (expanse of marshland) · ja 沼地 (expanse of marshland) · da sump (expanse of marshland) · et soo (expanse of marshland) · ba һаҙ (expanse of marshland) · tl kaburakan (expanse of marshland) · nn sump (expanse of marshland) · nl zomp (expanse of marshland) · nb kjerr (expanse of marshland) · kum батмакълыкъ (expanse of marshland) · fr tourbière (expanse of marshland) · lb Mouer (expanse of marshland) · az bataqlıq (expanse of marshland) · la palūs (expanse of marshland) · sa पङ्क (expanse of marshland) · sh tresetište (expanse of marshland) · gl braña (expanse of marshland) · nl moer (expanse of marshland) · el έλος (expanse of marshland) · fo mýra (expanse of marshland) · tl tumok (expanse of marshland) · sv mosse (expanse of marshland) · lv purvājs (expanse of marshland) · bg бла́то (expanse of marshland) · cs vrchoviště (expanse of marshland) · sq zhymë (expanse of marshland) · th หนอง (expanse of marshland) · grc τέλμα (expanse of marshland) · ru боло́то (expanse of marshland) · az bataq (expanse of marshland) · ca aiguamoll (expanse of marshland) · gd boglach (expanse of marshland) · nl moeras (expanse of marshland) · pt turfeira (expanse of marshland) · mk млачиште (expanse of marshland) · da mose (expanse of marshland) · fi suo (expanse of marshland) · ja 沼沢 (expanse of marshland) · it torbiera (expanse of marshland) · mk тресетиште (expanse of marshland) · cy siglen (expanse of marshland) · gl boedo (expanse of marshland) · ga portach (expanse of marshland) · tl burak (expanse of marshland) · nn myr (expanse of marshland)