Where does “quagmired” come from?
quagmired (English) comes from English quagmire, from English mire, from Middle English mire, from French mire, from Italian mira, from Italian mirare, from Latin mīror, from Latin mīrus — to smile; to smear, stroke, wipe, rub; to be...
quagmired (English): Resembling a quagmire; Sunk in a quagmire; simple...
Definitions
- Resembling a quagmire; Sunk in a quagmire; simple...
Ancestry of “quagmired”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | English | quagmire | A swampy, soggy area of ground; A perilous, mixed... |
| 2 | English | mire | Deep mud; moist, spongy earth; An undesirable... |
| 3 | Middle English | mire | Marshy or swampy land; a mire or peat; A region... |
| 4 | French | mire | aim; foresight; target |
| 5 | Italian | mira | aim; sight; aim, goal, purpose, design,... |
| 6 | Italian | mirare | to aim, to take aim, to sight, to point; to... |
| 7 | Latin | mīror | — |
| 8 | Latin | mīrus | — |
| 9 | Proto-Italic | smeiros | — |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | sméyros | laughing, smiling |
| 11 | Proto-Indo-European | smey- | to smile; to smear, stroke, wipe, rub; to be... |