Serbonian

American  

[ser-boh-nee-uhn] / sərˈboʊ ni ən /

adjective

1. of, relating to, or designating the large marshy tract of land in the northern part of ancient Egypt in which entire armies are said to have been swallowed up.

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Etymology

Origin of Serbonian

1660–70; < Greek Serbōní ( s ) ( límnē ) Serbonian (marsh) + -an

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

Serbonian

That avenue was nicknamed “the great Serbonian bog.”

From The New Yorker ● Jan. 19, 2017

This point is the great Serbonian bog, betwixt Damiata and Mount Casius old, where armies whole have sunk.

From The Works of the Right Honourable Edmund Burke, Vol. 02 (of 12) by Edmund Burke

If we continue to shape our conduct on that assumption we may find ourselves one day in a Serbonian bog from which there is no rescue.

From England and Germany by William Morris Hughes

Into this Serbonian bog between them and us we let them flounder, instead of building out into their domain great and noble piers and wharves, upon which they can land securely and come among us.

From The Atlantic Monthly, Volume 03, No. 15, January, 1859 by Various

One very large one, at whose western extremity we now were, runs most of the way across the top of the Peninsula, and is believed to have been the famous Serbonian Bog of the Classics.

From The Fifth Battalion Highland Light Infantry in the War 1914-1918 by F. L. Morrison

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