maggot

[ mag-uh t ]

/ ˈmæg ət /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR maggot ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a soft-bodied, legless larva of certain flies.

Archaic. an odd fancy; whim.

Nearby words

magenta, magfilm, maggid, maggie, maggiore, maggot, maggoty, maghemite, magherafelt, maghreb, maghrebi

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

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for maggot

Maggot was knocked down at the first gush, but leaped up and turned to fly.
Deep Down, a Tale of the Cornish Mines|R.M. Ballantyne
Haven't you often wondered what sort of a maggot it is that gets into the human brain to give it the superstitious twist?
The Quickening|Francis Lynde
The maggot of a fly described by De Geer (Volucella plumata,) has six pair of them, each of which has three long claws.
An Introduction to Entomology: Vol. II (of 4)|William Kirby
Worne, "the wild worm is come into his head" (N98,d); cf. "maggot in brain."
Early English Dramatists--Recently Recovered "Lost" Tudor Plays with some others|Various

The female bores and lays an egg in the unopened bud, and the maggot feeds on the stamens and pistil.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 2, Slice 3|Various

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

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.