quagとは 意味・読み方・使い方

語源

Uncertain. Most often suggested to be an alteration of 中期英語 quabbe (“a marsh, bog”), from 古期英語 *cwabbe (“that which shakes or trembles, something soft and flabby”), from Proto-West Germanic *kwabbā (“soggy ground”); this is supported by 1590s attestations of quabmire for quagmire (other earlier variants are quamire, from the 1550s, and quavemire from the 1520s). It has alternatively been suggested to be related to quake, as quaggy ground quakes when trod.

発音

• (General American) IPA: /kwæɡ/, /kwɑɡ/
• (Received Pronunciation) IPA: /kwæɡ/, /kwɒɡ/

名詞

quag (plural quags)

1. (obsolete) Quagmire; marsh; bog.
   • 1771 December 16, John Walker, Account of the Irruption of Solway Moss:

     If a person ventures on one of these quags, it bends in waves under his feet; and if the surface breaks, he is in danger of sinking to the bottom.

   • 1784, William Cowper, Tirocinium; or, a Review of Schools:

     Crooked or straight, through quags or thorny dells

   • 1865, Sheridan Le Fanu, Uncle Silas:

     I tell you frankly that less than twenty thousand pounds will not extricate me from the quag of ruin in which I am entangled—lost!

派生語

参照