Word Confusion: Bayou vs Bog vs Marsh vs Swamp

Posted June 13, 2023 by Kathy Davie in Author Resources, Self-Editing, Word Confusions, Writing

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Continuing my bodies of water obsession, this word confusion post explores some wetlands, namely bayous, bogs, marshes, and swamps.

The distinctions appear small, but obviously, make a difference.

A bayou is an extremely slow-moving stream, river (often with a poorly defined shoreline), marshy lake, wetland, or creek, typically containing brackish water highly conducive to fish life and plankton. Outside the US, a bog is referred to as a slough.

A bog is an acidic wetland with a sealed clay bottom that forms when plants decay in lakes and fill them up, forming peat. A fen is similar to a bog BUT is an alkaline wetland.

A marsh is a wetland characterized by mineral soils that are poorly drained, and plant life composed of mainly grasses — it cannot support trees. It is constantly flooded with water from a specific source” (Hummer).

A swamp is a forested wetland characterized by waterlogged soils whose dominant vegetation is trees and woody plants, which are able to survive growing in water without their roots rotting. They mostly develop from marshes.

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Exploring Later . . .

You may also want to wander through “Bay vs Bight vs Cove“, “Cay vs Key vs Quay“, “Creak versus Creek“, “Dock vs Pier vs Wharf“, “Harbor vs Marina vs Port vs Quay“, “Peer versus Pier“, “River vs Stream vs Tributary“, “Slew versus Slough“, and “Straight versus Strait“.

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Word Confusions . . .

. . . started as my way of dealing with a professional frustration with properly spelled words that were out of context in manuscripts I was editing as well as books I was reviewing. It evolved into a sharing of information with y’all. I’m hoping you’ll share with us words that have been a bête noire for you from either end.

If you found this post on “Bayou vs Bog vs Marsh vs Swamp” interesting, consider subscribing to KD Did It, if you’d like to track this post for future updates.

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Bayou	Bog	Marsh	Swamp
Bayou, Louisiana, by Rauschenberger is under the Pixabay License, via Pixabay.	Rosecrans Bog Natural Area by Nicholas A Tonelli is under the CC BY 2.0 license, via Wikimedia Commons.	Northeast Marsh, St Lawrence Island, Alaska, by Alan Schmierer is under the CC0 1.0 license, via Wikimedia Commons.	Swamp, Lafayette, Louisiana, by Carol M Highsmith is in the public domain, via GaryStockbridge617.
Part of Grammar:
Noun Plural: bayous	Noun; Verb Plural for the noun: bogs Gerund: bogging Third person present verb: bogs Past tense or past participle: bogged Present participle: bogging A.k.a. mire	Noun Plural: marshes	Noun; Verb, intransitive & transitive Plural for the noun: swamps Gerund: swamping Third person present verb: swamps Past tense or past participle: swamped Present participle: swamping
Noun: [In the southern US] A marshy outlet of a lake or river	Noun: Wet muddy ground too soft to support a heavy body [Ecology] Wetland with acid peaty soil, typically dominated by peat moss [British; informal; usually the bog] A bathroom Verb: To sink in or as if in a bog (often followed by down) [be bogged down; get bogged down] Be or become stuck in mud or wet ground Be prevented from making progress in a task or activity	Noun: An area of low-lying land which is flooded in wet seasons or at high tide, and typically remains waterlogged at all times	Noun: An area of low-lying, uncultivated ground where water collects A bog or marsh Used to emphasize the degree to which a piece of ground is waterlogged Verb, intransitive: To fill with water and sink, as a boat Verb, transitive: Overwhelm, drench, or flood, especially with water Overwhelm with an excessive amount of something Inundate To render helpless To clear underbrush from, especially to make a trail
Examples:
Noun: “We had powerful good luck; because we got a chance in a stern-wheeler from away North which was bound for one of them bayous or one-horse rivers away down Louisiana way, and so we could go all the way down the Upper Mississippi and all the way down the Lower Mississippi to that farm in Arkansaw without having to change steamboats at St Louis” (Twain). She reserved a place on a bayou tour. “During the event Imagineers presented Morton with an artistic rendering of himself alongside one of the new bayou critters that will appear as an animatronic in the re-themed attraction” (Rubenstein). “To keep visitors from disturbing neighbors near the original Lazy Lane entrance, Hogg built a pedestrian suspension bridge over the bayou on the property’s secluded west side” (Soslow).	Noun: Be careful! There’s a peat bog nearby. He foundered under a bog of legal complications. The island is a wilderness of bog. “In northern Wisconsin, bogs are frequently found in the kettle depressions of pitted outwash and morainal landforms” (Open). Have you seen the bog in this place? Verb: The car became bogged down on the beach road. You must not get bogged down in detail. The project got bogged down in haggling about procedures.	Noun: The marsh marigold loves damp fields, riverbanks, and marshes. There were patches of marsh everywhere. Marshes are dominated by herbaceous plants, such as grasses, reeds, and sedges. The rootstocks.and tubers of several kinds of marsh plants are important foods for wild geese and muskrats.	Noun: The stillness and sense of solitude can feel like a remote wilderness when you’re in the cedar swamp. “Most of the swamps in the Upper Peninsula and Pictured Rocks are conifer swamps” (Wetlands). You could think of a swamp and a marsh as being similar, since both require the presence of water, however, only the swamp can support trees. The ceaseless deluge had turned the lawn into a swamp. The whole family is down with swamp fever. Verb, intransitive: The life boat somehow did not swamp, but made it to shore. The deck was swamped. The boat sank after it was swamped. Verb, transitive: A huge wave swamped the canoes. The country was swamped with goods from abroad. He was swamped with work. Feelings of guilt suddenly swamped her. “Being absorbed into Romania, which is already an EU and NATO member, is a seductive idea for many Moldovans discouraged by the difficulties that have persistently swamped the little country’s efforts to establish its statehood” (Weir).
Derivatives:
	Adjective: boggy, boggier, boggiest Noun: boggy, bogland, bogtrotter	Adjective: marshier, marshiest, marshy Noun: marshiness, marshland, marshmallow,	Adjective: swamp, swampier, swampiest, swampish, swampy Noun: swamper, swampiness, swampland
History of the Word:
Mid-18th century, from the Louisiana French, which is from the Choctaw bayuk.	Middle English from the Irish or the Scottish Gaelic bogach, from bog meaning soft.	Old English mer(i)sc (perhaps influenced by the late Latin mariscus meaning marsh), is of West Germanic origin.	Early 17th century, probably ultimately from a Germanic base meaning sponge or fungus.

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C’mon, get it out of your system, bitch, whine, moan . . . which words are your pet peeves? Also, please note that I try to be as accurate as I can, but mistakes happen or I miss something. Email me if you find errors, so I can fix them . . . and we’ll all benefit!

Satisfy your curiosity about other Word Confusions on its homepage or more generally explore the index of self-editing posts. You may also want to explore Book Layout & Formatting Ideas, Formatting Tips, Grammar Explanations, Linguistics, Publishing Tips, the Properly Punctuated, Writing Ideas and Resources, and Working Your Website.

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Resources for Bayou vs Bog vs Marsh vs Swamp

Some of these links may be affiliate links, and I will earn a small percentage, if you should buy it. It does not affect the price you pay.

Apple Dictionary.com

Dictionary.com: bog

The Free Dictionary: swamp

Hummer, John. “What is the Difference Between A Marsh, Swamp, Bog and Fen?” Ponder Weasel. 1 Mar 2018. Web. 7 June 2023. <https://www.ponderweasel.com/the-difference-between-a-marsh-swamp-bog-and-fen/>.

“Open Bog.” Ecological Landscapes of Wisconsin. Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. Last updated 30 Aug 2022. Web. 7 June 2023. <https://dnr.wi.gov/topic/EndangeredResources/Communities.asp?mode=detail&Code=cpshr054wi>.

Rubenstein, Janine. “PJ Morton to Create New Song for Tiana’s Bayou Adventure Ride at Disney Parks (Exclusive).” People. 1 June 2023. Web. 7 June 2023. <https://people.com/pj-morton-creating-new-song-for-disney-s-tiana-s-bayou-adventure-rides-7506828>.

Soslow, Robin. “Bayou Bend Collection and Gardens: Where Texas history, art shine in Houston.” Culture. Chron. 13 May 2023. Web. 7 June 2023. <https://www.chron.com/culture/article/bayou-bend-collection-gardens-17906131.php>.

Twain, Mark. Tom Sawyer Detective. Originally published 1896. 2012. <https://amzn.to/3qrmrnH>. Ebook.

Weir, Fred. “Ukraine to Invade? Russia Plotting? Rumors Fly in Moldova Amid Protests.” The Christian Science Monitor. 21 Mar 2023. Web. 7 June 2023. <https://www.csmonitor.com/World/Europe/2023/0321/Ukraine-to-invade-Russia-plotting-Rumors-fly-in-Moldova-amid-protests>.

“Wetlands, Marshes and Swamps.” National Park Service. Last updated 22 Sept 2021. Web. 7 June 2023. <https://www.nps.gov/piro/learn/nature/wetlands.htm>.

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