Quagmire

Pronunciation

• UK IPA: /ˈkwÉ’É¡.maɪə(ɹ)/
• US IPA: /ˈkwæɡ.maɪəɹ/

Origin

Recorded since 1579, from two virtual synonyms: obsolete quag ("bog, marsh") (a variant of Middle English quabbe ("a marsh, bog"), from Old English *cwabba ("shake, tremble like something soft and flabby"); cognate with Dutch kwab) + mire (from Middle English, from Old Norse mýrr, akin to Old English mōs ("marsh") and English moss). The sense "difficult situation, inextricable position" is recorded since 1775.

Online Etymology Dictionary

Alternative: Apparently a var. of the earlier quakemire, from quake + mire.

Century 1911

Full definition of quagmire

Noun

1. A swampy, soggy area of ground.''That quagmire regularly 'swallows' caught-up hikers' boots
2. (figuratively) A perilous, mixed up and troubled situation; a hopeless tangle; a predicament.The paperwork got lost in a quagmire of bureaucracy.''Those election results are a quagmire for any coalition except one of national union

Synonyms

• (a swampy, soggy area of ground) bog, marsh (land), mire, quag