“一片湿润、海绵状的土地；被水饱和的低洼地，不适合农业或牧场，约1500年（在swamwatyr“沼泽水”中暗示），词源不确定。
也许[Barnhart]它是古英语与古诺尔斯语svöppr“海绵，真菌”的同源词的方言残留，来自原始日耳曼语*swampuz。它传统上与中古英语sompe“沼泽，沼地”联系在一起，可能来自中古荷兰语somp或中古低地德语sump“沼泽”（参见sump）。所有这些很可能最终相关，并通过“海绵状土地”的概念，来自原始印欧语*swombho-“海绵；蘑菇”。
[B]y swamps then in general is to be understood any low grounds subject to inundations, distinguished from marshes, in having a large growth of timber, and much underwood, canes, reeds, wythes, vines, briers, and such like, so matted together, that they are in a great measure impenetrable to man or beast .... [Bernard Romans, "A Concise History of East and West Florida," 1775]
Swamp (n.) by itself is first attested 1624 in Capt. John Smith's description of Virginia), and has been more used in U.S. than Britain. It also is attested as swang or swank in Northern dialect.
Swamp-fever "malarial fever" is by 1870. Swamp-oak is from 1680s, in reference to various species, American English. Swamp Yankee "rural, rustic New Englander" is attested from 1941. Thornton's "American Glossary" (1912) has swamp-angel "dweller in a swamp;" swamp-law "might makes right."
