Okefenokee
/ˌoʊkəfəˈnoʊki/noun
A large swamp in southeastern Georgia and northeastern Florida.
Did you know?Okefenokee is generally traced to a Hitchiti/Mikasuki Creek term meaning “trembling earth” or “land of trembling earth,” a vivid name for a swampy landscape that literally quakes underfoot.
Etymological Timeline
Pre-Contact Southeast
Muskogean
oki fənó:ki / oki-fenoke
“A Native place-name referring to a trembling or trembling-earth swamp”
19th Century
English
Okefenokee
“The established English spelling of the swamp name in Georgia and Florida”
Modern English
English
Okefenokee
“The name of the famous swamp and surrounding wilderness region”
Modern Scholarship
English
Okefenokee
“Commonly analyzed as a Muskogean place-name connected with trembling ground or land”