Quakemire

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A soft, waterlogged stretch of marshy ground that trembles and gives way when someone steps onto it
2. Boggy terrain whose surface quivers and sinks beneath the weight of a walker, making it dangerous to cross
3. An area of wet, yielding earth that quakes underfoot and can swallow anything that sinks into its depths

Etymology: "Quakemire" is a compound of "quake" and "mire," and it describes exactly what it sounds like: a bog whose surface trembles underfoot. "Quake" comes from Old English "cwacian," meaning to shake or tremble, and "mire" is an older English word for deep, wet ground. The form is an older variant of "quagmire," which replaced it in common use. "Quagmire" is probably built on "quag," a dialect word for a boggy spot or a shaking, unstable surface, which is likely related to "quake" as well. Since "quag" itself is an English dialect word whose exact origin is uncertain, the most secure part of the story is the pairing of "quake" with "mire," which reads straightforwardly as "a mire that shakes." Because "quagmire" later took over, "quakemire" now appears mainly in older writing and in dialect use.