1. An area of low-lying, soggy ground.
2. Something that hinders, engulfs, or overwhelms: a morass of details.

[Dutch moeras, from Middle Dutch maras, from Old French mareis, probably of Germanic origin.]

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.