Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “bog” come from?

Bog comes from Middle English bog, of unknown ultimate origin and meaning.

bog (English): An area of decayed vegetation which forms a wet...

Definitions

  1. An area of decayed vegetation which forms a wet...

Ancestry of “bog”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Englishbog—
2Scottish Gaelicbogachsoft, boggy ground
3Old Irishbogsoft
4Proto-Celticbuggossoft, tender
5Proto-Indo-Europeanbʰewgʰ-to bend; curve, arch

Words derived from “bog”

  • boggy
  • bogland
  • bogwood
  • bogginess
  • peatbog
  • bogtrotter
  • bogger
  • bogtrotting
  • bogberry
  • boghouse
  • embog
  • boggily
  • boggish
  • bogsucker
  • boggo
  • bogs
  • bogwort
  • bog moss
  • bog-myrtle
  • bograt
  • bogroll
  • boglet
  • bogless
Every word from Proto-Indo-European bʰewgʰ- →