maggot
[ mag-uh t ]
/ ˈmæg ət /
noun
a soft-bodied, legless larva of certain flies.
Archaic. an odd fancy; whim.
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Origin of maggot
1425–75; late Middle English magot, magat, unexplained variant of maddock, Middle English mathek < Old Norse mathkr; akin to Danish maddik maggot, Old English matha, mathu grub, maggot, Old High German mado maggot
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Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Examples from the Web for maggot
British Dictionary definitions for maggot
maggot
/ (ˈmæɡət) /
noun
the soft limbless larva of dipterous insects, esp the housefly and blowfly, occurring in decaying organic matter
rare a fancy or whim
Word Origin for maggot
C14: from earlier mathek; related to Old Norse mathkr worm, Old English matha, Old High German mado grub
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for maggot
maggot
late 15c., probably an unexplained variant of Middle English maðek, from Old English maða "maggot, grub," from Proto-Germanic *mathon (cf. Old Norse maðkr, Old Saxon matho, Middle Dutch, Dutch made, Old High German mado, German Made, Gothic maþa "maggot"). Figurative use "whim, fancy, crotchet" is 1620s, from the notion of a maggot in the brain.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Medicine definitions for maggot
maggot
[ măg′ət ]
n.
The legless, soft-bodied, wormlike larva of any of various flies of the order Diptera, often found in decaying matter.
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
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