mawk

The story

1. Proto-Indo-European · derived from*mat-
2. Proto-Germanic · derived from*maþô“worm”
3. Old Norse · derived frommaðkr“maggot”
4. Middle English · inherited frommawke
5. English todaymawk

From Middle English mawke, moke, a contraction of mathek, maddok, from Old Norse maðkr (“maggot”), a diminutive of a base from Proto-Germanic *maþô (“worm”) (compare Old English maþa), from Proto-Indo-European *mat-, *mot- used in reference to insects and vermin. Cognate with Danish maddike, Swedish mask, archaic English maddock (modern maggot).

Words from the same roots