waterlogged
Meaning
Saturated with or full of water; soaked.
(of a boat or ship) So full of water that it is heavy and difficult to move or control.
Structure
Usage
The football match was cancelled because the pitch was completely waterlogged.
After the storm, the sailors worked tirelessly to pump water out of the waterlogged hull.
Walking through the waterlogged fields after the heavy rains was exhausting.
Etymology
The compound "waterlogged" is a vivid nautical term from the 18th century. Its first element, "water," derives from the ancient Proto-Indo-European root wod-or, referring to the essential liquid. The second element, "logged," originates from the noun "log," a thick piece of wood, which by the 1700s had developed a verbal sense describing the sluggish, heavy movement of a ship, as if it were a water-soaked log. Thus, the term's literal logic perfectly captures the state of being so thoroughly saturated with water that an object becomes inert, heavy, and unmanageable, whether describing sodden ground or a flooded vessel.
Analysis
water: From Old English wæter, of Proto-Germanic origin; the core substance. logged: From the verb log, in the sense of making something heavy or slow like a water-soaked log; functions as a participial adjective suffix.