quicksand
Definition from Wiktionary, the free dictionary
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English [edit]
Etymology [edit]
From Middle English quyksande, from Old English cwecesand (“quicksand”), from Proto-Germanic *kwikwaz (“living, active”) + Proto-Germanic *samdaz, *samdan (“sand”), equivalent to quick (“living”) + sand. Cognate with Dutch kwikzand (“quicksand”), German Quicksand (“quicksand”), Icelandic kwiksandur, kviksyndi (“quicksand”). More at quick, sand.
Noun [edit]
quicksand (countable and uncountable; plural quicksands)
- Wet sand that things readily sink in, often found near rivers or coasts
- My feet were firmly lodged in the quicksand, and the more I struggled the more I sank into it.
- Anything that pulls one down or buries one metaphorically
- The quicksands of youth...
Translations [edit]
wet sand that things readily sink in, often found near rivers or coasts
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