Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “mawk” come from?

mawk (English) comes from Middle English mawke, from Middle English mathek, from Old Norse maðkr, from Proto-Germanic maþukaz, from Proto-Germanic maþô, from Proto-Indo-European mot-.

mawk (English): a maggot; a slattern

Definitions

  1. a maggot; a slattern

Ancestry of “mawk”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Englishmawke—
2Middle Englishmathek—
3Old Norsemaðkrmaggot, grub, worm
4Proto-Germanicmaþukaz—
5Proto-Germanicmaþômaggot, worm
6Proto-Indo-Europeanmot-—

Words derived from “mawk”

  • mawkish
  • mawkishness
  • mawkishly
  • mawky
Every word from Proto-Indo-European mot- →