Where does “mawkish” come from?
Mawkish derives from Middle English -isch and Old English -isċ combined with Old Norse maðkr, meaning maggot, traced through Proto-Germanic maþukaz to Proto-Indo-European mot-.
mawkish (English): Feeling sick, queasy; Sickening or insipid in...
Definitions
- Feeling sick, queasy; Sickening or insipid in...
Ancestry of “mawkish”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | English | mawk | a maggot; a slattern |
| 2 | Middle English | mawke | — |
| 3 | Middle English | mathek | — |
| 4 | Old Norse | maðkr | maggot, grub, worm |
| 5 | Proto-Germanic | maþukaz | — |
| 6 | Proto-Germanic | maþô | maggot, worm |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | mot- | — |
Words derived from “mawkish”