Maggots

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /ˈmæɡəts/

Definitions

1. The soft, wormlike larval stage that hatches from fly eggs, often found in decaying matter
2. A small, legless immature form of a fly that grows in rotting organic material
3. The early development phase of flies, appearing as tiny white larvae usually seen in decomposing substances

Etymology: Few people would guess that "maggot" once meant something close to a whim. In Middle English, a person with a quirky or crotchety streak was said to have maggots in the brain, a folk belief that turned the grubs of decay into the source of odd notions. The fanciful sense of the word grew directly out of that idea, so a whimsical idea was literally a maggot. The word itself is a diminutive. Its base lies in Old English "maþa," a term for a worm or grub, traced back to a Proto-Germanic root. Middle English "magot" and related forms probably arose from a metathesis (a swapping of sounds) of an earlier word "maddock," which was itself a little-worm form built from the same base plus the diminutive ending "-ock." Its relatives survive across the Germanic languages: Dutch "made," German "Made," and Swedish "mask," all meaning a grub or worm.

Synonyms: larvae, grubs, caterpillars, worms, pupa