Maggot Definition

Origin of Maggot

• From Middle English magot, magotte, probably Anglo-Norman alteration of maddock (“worm", "maggot"), originally a diminutive form of a base represented by Old English maþa (Scots mathe), from common Germanic root *mathon-, from the Proto-Indo-European root *math-, which was used in insect names, equivalent to made +"Ž -ock. Near-cognates include Dutch made, German Made and Swedish mask. 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 his or her brain.

  From Wiktionary

• Middle English magot perhaps alteration of mathek, maddokk perhaps from Old English matha

  From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition