maggot
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maggot
- /ˈmæɡət/
- /ˈmeɪ̯ɡət/
Sounds like MAGAt · Rhymes with -æɡət
Where it comes from
From Middle English magot, magat, maked, probably a metathetic alteration of maddock, maðek (“worm", "maggot”), originally a diminutive form of a base represented by Old English maþa (Scots mathe), from Proto-West Germanic *maþō, from Proto-Germanic *maþô, from the Proto-Indo-European root *mat, which was used in insect names, equivalent to made + -ock. Near-cognates include Dutch made, German Made and Swedish mask, Icelandic maðkur (“worm, grub, maggot”).
The use of maggot to mean a fanciful or whimsical thing derives from the folk belief that a whimsical or crotchety person had maggots in their brain.
noun maggots
-
A soft, legless larva of a fly or other dipteran insect, that often eats decomposing organic matter.
Similar: grub
- A worthless, obnoxious or contemptible person. Drop and give me fifty, maggot.
- A whimsy or fancy. Are you not mad, my friend? What time o' th' moon is't? / Have not you maggots in your brain?
- A fan of the American metal band Slipknot. (We) We are the new diabolic (We) We are the bitter bucolic If I have to give my life, you can have it (We) We are the pulse of the maggots
- Alternative form of MAGAt
verb maggots · maggoting · maggoted
- To rid (an animal) of maggots. In the summer I had to get the sheep penned twice a day to maggot them and I needed a good dog.
adjective more maggot · most maggot
- Alternative form of maggoted (“drunk; intoxicated”).
Translations
Every language
noun dipterous insect's larva that eats decomposing organic matter
| Español | larva, cresa, gusano, verme, vierme, queresa |
|---|---|
| 한국어 | 구더기 gudeogi |
| 日本語 | 蛆 uji, ウジ uji |
| 中文 | 蛆 qū, 蠐 /蛴 qí |
| Português | larva |
| Français | asticot, larve |
| Deutsch | Made, Fleischmade |
| Italiano | larva, verme, baco |
| Ελληνικά | σκουλήκι skoulíki |
| Română | larvă, vierme |
| Русский | опа́рыш opáryš, личи́нка ličínka, червь červʹ |
| Tiếng Việt | giòi |
| العربية | نَغَفة naḡafa |
| עברית | רימה rima |
Talk about this word "maggot." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/maggot. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. maggot. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/maggot "maggot." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/maggot.Cite this
@misc{maggot_2026,
title = {maggot},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/maggot},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
