mawk

M3A1W4K5
/mɔːk/

noun

A maggot.

OriginMiddle English mawke ← Old Norse maðkr ← Proto-Germanic *maþô →
UncommonScrabble 13
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Meanings

nounmawk (plural mawks)

plural mawks

  1. obsolete except in dialectsA maggot.
  2. UKdialectalobsoleteA slattern.

Origin

  1. Proto-Indo-European*mat-
  2. Proto-Germanic*maþô“worm”
  3. Old Norsemaðkr“maggot”
  4. Middle Englishmawke
  5. Englishmawk

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).

More words from Middle English, Old Norse, Proto-Germanic

Full word history & related roots →

Rhymes & wordplay

Rhymes with mawk

talkwalkhawkoverstockchalkstalkawkaukbalkcaulksquawkdawkyawkby a long chalkcocktail forkpawkpickle forkPisokshalk
All rhymes →
Cite this entry
APA

mawk. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/mawk

MLA

“mawk.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/mawk. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “mawk,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/mawk.

Source: mawk on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.