adjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of marshy
First recorded in 1350–1400, marshy is from the Middle English word mershi. See marsh, -y 1
Explanation
Marshy things are squishy, wet, and soft, like a marsh or a bog. After three days of rain, your backyard just might be too marshy to set up the volleyball net. Any area of ground that's waterlogged is marshy, like the marshy shore of a river or the low-lying marshy patch in the neighborhood dog park. Unless there's a drought, swamps and bogs and wetlands are always marshy, and water-loving plants grow happily in these areas. This adjective comes from marsh, which has a Germanic root, mari, that means "sea."
Vocabulary lists containing marshy
"Be Prepared" by Vera Brosgol
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"The Legend of the Yakwawiak"
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Marshy areas in the center were dug out to accommodate shipping channels.
From New York Times • Oct. 14, 2015
In Myrtle Beach, S.C., local boosters succeeded in a nationwide search for a living namesake by finding Mrs. Myrtle Beach of Fort Madison, Iowa, mother of three � Sandy, Marshy and Rocky.
From Time Magazine Archive
Marshy silt and decomposed plants made a surface that looked completely solid, but it was even worse than quicksand.
From "The Son of Neptune" by Rick Riordan
Marshy land and stagnant pools are their breeding places.
From If You're Going to Live in the Country by Lieberman, Frank
"I'll do that same, Miss Marshy; but me waages, if ye plaze, Miss."
From The Atlantic Monthly, Volume 03, No. 18, April, 1859 by Various
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
