maggot
noun
- non-standard term for various flies
Wiktionary
Pronunciation: /ˈmæɡət/ / /ˈmeɪ̯ɡət/
adj
Etymology: 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.
- Alternative form of maggoted (“drunk; intoxicated”).
noun
Etymology: 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.
- A soft, legless larva of a fly or other dipteran insect, that often eats decomposing organic matter.
- A worthless person.
“Drop and give me fifty, maggot.”
“"Maggot!" said Catweazle angrily. "Sit thee down!"”
- A whimsy or fancy.
“Are you not mad, my friend? What time o' th' moon is't? / Have not you maggots in your brain?”
“‘I am ashamed of him! how can he think of humouring you in such maggots!’”
- 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
Etymology: 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.
- 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.”