Quyksande

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. Loose, water-saturated sand that yields under weight and can slowly draw in anything resting on its surface
2. A deep bed of wet sand that sinks and swallows whatever pressure is placed upon it, trapping the unwary
3. Soft, waterlogged sand that behaves like a liquid when disturbed, causing objects and people to sink into it

Etymology: Before "quicksand" meant a treacherous bog, "quick" meant "alive." The word combines Old English "cwic," living or lively, with "sand," so the name describes sand that seems to live and move under your feet. "Quick" in this sense survives in "the quick and the dead" and in the old verb "to quicken," meaning to come to life. The spelling "quyksande" is a Middle English form of the same compound, from a period when English spelling was far less fixed. The modern spelling settled over the centuries that followed, while the meaning stayed attached to the same image of ground that gives way.

Synonyms: quicksand