swamp
n. countablen. an area of very soft, wet land that is often covered with water. In politics, people use this word to describe a complicated system that is difficult to change or full of dishonest people.
n. an area of low-lying, uncultivated ground where water collects; a bog or marsh. In a political context, it functions as a metaphor for a complex, entrenched bureaucracy or a corrupt environment that is difficult to navigate or reform.
The hikers had to walk around the swamp to stay dry.
The candidate promised to drain the political swamp and remove corrupt officials from the government.
While the literal swamp provides a vital ecosystem for local wildlife, the term has been repurposed by populist orators to characterise the federal bureaucracy as a stagnant and self-serving entity.
Early attestations (starting in 1624) are from North America, but the term was probably in local use in Britain earlier. The etymology is not entirely certain; it is probably a fusion of Middle English swam (“swamp, muddy pool, bog, marsh”, also “fungus, mushroom”) — from Old English swamm (“mushroom, fungus, sponge”), from Proto-West Germanic swamm, from Proto-Germanic swambaz, swammaz — and Middle English sompe (“marsh, morass”), from either Middle Dutch somp, sump (“marsh, swamp”) or Middle Low German sump (“marsh, swamp”) (from Old Saxon sump (“swamp, marsh”)), both from Proto-West Germanic sump, from Proto-Germanic sumpaz. Swambaz, swammaz and *sumpaz are likely related to each other, but it is unclear whether they are of Indo-European origin or are substrate words or wanderworts. The word has alternatively been suggested to be a borrowing from Dutch zwamp (“swamp, marsh, fen”). Other cognates include Middle Low German swamp (“sponge, mushroom”), Dutch zomp (“swamp, lake, marshy place”), German Low German Sump (“swamp, bog, marsh”), German Sumpf (“swamp”), Swedish sump (“swamp”). Related also to Dutch zwam (“fungus, punk, tinder”), German Schwamm (“mushroom, fungus, sponge”), Swedish svamp (“mushroom, fungus, sponge”), Icelandic svampur, sveppur (“fungus”), Gothic 𐍃𐍅𐌿𐌼𐍃𐌻 (swumsl, “a ditch”). Related to sump, swim.
Often used metaphorically in political discourse with the verb 'drain'.