Serbonian

[ ser-boh-nee-uhn ]

adjective

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.

Origin of Serbonian

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

An arctic night has dropped down upon the south; and in our dense blindness we know not in what direction lies the Serbonian bog.
The Broken Sword | Dennison Worthington
The engineer himself was declared to have been swallowed up in the Serbonian bog; and “railways were at an end for ever!”
Lives of the Engineers | Samuel Smiles
The first is deeper than the Serbonian bog, and would swallow up the whole British army.
Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, Volume 58, Number 358, August 1845 | Various
This fell disease began between the Serbonian bog and the eastern channel of the Nile.
Outlines of Greek and Roman Medicine | James Sands Elliott
The eastern quarter of Tanis was dedicated to Ashtoreth as was a temple near by on the shores of the Serbonian lake.
Myths and Legends of Ancient Egypt | Lewis Spence

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