'Swamp' is Low German for 'spongy ground' — related to German 'Sumpf' and Scandinavian 'svamp' (sponge).
An area of low-lying, uncultivated ground where water collects; a bog or marsh, typically dominated by trees.
Probably from a dialectal or Low German source akin to Middle Low German 'swamp' or 'sump' (swamp, marsh) and related to Low German 'swampen' (to swamp, to splash). Possibly connected to Old English 'swamm' (mushroom, fungus, sponge) and to the Proto-Germanic root *swamp- (spongy ground). The word may also be related to 'sump' (a pit where liquid collects
The Swedish and Danish word 'svamp' means both 'sponge' and 'mushroom' — reflecting the ancient connection between spongy, water-absorbing things and marshy ground. English 'swamp,' German 'Sumpf' (swamp), and Scandinavian 'svamp' (sponge/mushroom) are all probably related through the idea of something porous that soaks up water. The phrase 'drain the swamp' dates to at least 1903, when a literal malaria