Serbonian

[ser-boh-nee-uhn]

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.

Word History and Origins

Origin of Serbonian¹

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

Example Sentences

That avenue was nicknamed “the great Serbonian bog.”

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Serbonian, ser-bō′ni-an, adj. relating to a dangerous bog in Egypt, hence to any difficult situation.

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In Canaan also the mountain summits were sacred to this deity; in the south of the land the lonely peak of Casius on the Serbonian lake, then Carmel, Tabor, and Hermon.

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How the Four Gospels Originated The origin of the Gospels has proved a Serbonian bog, in which many writers who have attempted an explanation have floundered without finding solid ground.

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The strip between the city of Jenysus and the Serbonian Lake, a journey of three days, is wholly without water.

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