Etymology
Advertisement

mawkish (adj.)

1660s, "sickly, nauseated" (a sense now obsolete), from Middle English mawke "maggot" (early 15c.; see maggot), but the literal sense of "maggoty" is not found. Figurative meaning "sickeningly sentimental, insipid" is recorded by 1702. Related: Mawkishly; mawkishness.

Entries linking to mawkish

maggot (n.)

the worm or grub of various insects (especially a fly), formerly supposed to be generated by corruption, late 15c., magat, probably an unexplained variant of Middle English maddok, maðek "earthworm, bedbug, maggot," from Old English maða "maggot, grub," from Proto-Germanic *mathon (source also of Old Norse maðkr, Old Saxon matho, Middle Dutch, Dutch made, Old High German mado, German Made, Gothic maþa "maggot").

Figurative use "whim, fancy, crotchet" is 1620s, from the notion of a maggot in the brain. Hence maggotry "folly, absurdity" (1706).

updated on December 06, 2018

Advertisement
Advertisement

Dictionary entries near mawkish

mauve

maven

maverick

mavis

maw

mawkish

maw-worm

max

maxi-

maxilla

maxillary

© 2001-2023 Douglas Harper