Lexic.us

Definition of Maggot

1. Noun. The larva of the housefly and blowfly commonly found in decaying organic matter.

Definition of Maggot

1. n. The footless larva of any fly. See Larval.

Definition of Maggot

1. Noun. A soft, legless larva of a fly or other dipterous insect, that often eats decomposing organic matter. ¹

2. Noun. A term of insult for a 'worthless' person, as if a bug. ¹

3. Noun. (obsolete) A whimsy or fancy. ¹

¹ Source: wiktionary.com

Definition of Maggot

1. the legless larva of certain insects [n -S] : MAGGOTY [adj]

Medical Definition of Maggot

1. 1. The footless larva of any fly. See Larval. 2. A whim; an odd fancy. Origin: W. Macai, pl. Maceiod, magiod, a worn or grub; cf. Magu to bread. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998)

Lexicographical Neighbors of Maggot

Literary usage of Maggot

Below you will find example usage of this term as found in modern and/or classical literature:

1. Essays and Observations on Natural History, Anatomy, Physiology, Psychology by John Hunter, Richard Owen (1861)
"Of the maggot.—The maggot is not so long as the caterpillar in proportion to its thickness, and is smaller at the two ends than in the middle1. ..."

2. Biennial Report by California Dept. of Agriculture, California State Commission of Horticulture (1905)
"We are now producing from 25000 to 35000 carloads of citrus fruits annually, and the orange- maggot is unknown in our State. ..."

3. Annual Report of the United States Geological and Geographical Survey of the by Geological and Geographical Survey of the Territories (U.S.), United States General Land Office, United States Dept. of the Interior (1877)
"Gnawing seed-corn after it is planted ; a maggot like the onion-worm. This maggot has been found to injure seed-corn just after being planted, and to abound ..."

4. A Concise Etymological Dictionary of the English Language by Walter William Skeat (1901)
"maggot Madam, my lady. (F. - L.) F. madame, ie ma dame, my lady. — L. mea domina, my lady ; see Dame. Madder, a plant. (E.) ME mader, madir. ..."

5. The Journal of Economic Biology by Walter Edward Collinge, A. H. Reginald Buller, George Herbert Carpenter, Robert Newstead, Arthur Everett Shipley (1908)
"1 "The Cabbage Root maggot, with notes on the Onion maggot and allied insects. Bull. 78. Cornell Univ. Agricult. Expt. Slat. Entom. Div., 1894. ..."

6. The Poetical Works of Jonathan Swift by Jonathan Swift (1834)
"DICK, A maggot. As when, from rooting in a bin, All powder'd o'er from tail to chin, A lively maggot sallies out, You know him by his hazel snout: ..."

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