Serbonian

[ ser-boh-nee-uhn ]

adjective

1. of, relating to, or designating the large marshy tract of land in the northern part of ancient Egypt in which entire armies are said to have been swallowed up.

Word History and Origins

Origin of Serbonian¹

1660–70; < Greek Serbōní ( s ) ( límnē ) Serbonian (marsh) + -an

Example Sentences

That avenue was nicknamed “the great Serbonian bog.”

From The New Yorker

Serbonian, ser-bō′ni-an, adj. relating to a dangerous bog in Egypt, hence to any difficult situation.

From Project Gutenberg

In Canaan also the mountain summits were sacred to this deity; in the south of the land the lonely peak of Casius on the Serbonian lake, then Carmel, Tabor, and Hermon.

From Project Gutenberg

Should this fortunate tendency of literature continue, books will grow more valuable from year to year, and the whole Serbonian bog yield to the advances of firm arable land.

From Project Gutenberg

How the Four Gospels Originated The origin of the Gospels has proved a Serbonian bog, in which many writers who have attempted an explanation have floundered without finding solid ground.

From Project Gutenberg