mawkish

mawkish
\ \ [17] The underlying meaning of mawkish is ‘maggotish’. It was derived from a now obsolete word mawk, which meant literally ‘maggot’ but was used figuratively (like maggot itself) for a ‘whim’ or ‘fastidious fancy’. Hence mawkish originally meant ‘nauseated, as if repelled by something one is too fastidious to eat’. In the 18th century the notion of ‘sickness’ or ‘sickliness’ produced the present-day sense ‘over-sentimental’. Mawk itself went back to a Middle English mathek ‘maggot’ (possible source of maggot [14]), which was borrowed from Old Norse mathkr.
\ \ Cf.⇒ MAGGOT

Word origins - 2ed. . 2005.

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  • Mawkish — Mawk ish, a. [Orig., maggoty. See {Mawk}.] 1. Apt to cause satiety or loathing; nauseous; slightly nauseating; disgusting. [1913 Webster] So sweetly mawkish , and so smoothly dull. Pope. [1913 Webster] 2. Easily disgusted; squeamish;… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • mawkish — index unsavory Burton s Legal Thesaurus. William C. Burton. 2006 …   Law dictionary

  • mawkish — 1660s, sickly, nauseated, from M.E. mawke maggot (see MAGGOT (Cf. maggot)). Sense of sickly sentimental is first recorded 1702. Related: Mawkishly; mawkishness …   Etymology dictionary

  • mawkish — maudlin, *sentimental, romantic, soppy, mushy, slushy Analogous words: flat, vapid, jejune, *insipid, banal, inane …   New Dictionary of Synonyms

  • mawkish — [adj] sentimental, emotional bathetic, cloying, feeble, gooey*, gushing, gushy*, lovey dovey*, maudlin, mushy*, nauseating, romantic, sappy*, schmaltzy*, sickening, sloppy, tear jerking*, teary; concepts 401,542 Ant. calm, serious, unemotional …   New thesaurus

  • mawkish — ► ADJECTIVE 1) sentimental in a feeble or sickly way. 2) archaic or dialect having a faint sickly flavour. ORIGIN from obsolete mawk maggot …   English terms dictionary

  • mawkish — [mô′kish] adj. [lit., maggoty < ME mawke, maggot < ON mathkr < IE base * math , gnawing vermin > MOTH] 1. having a sweet, weak, sickening taste; insipid or nauseating 2. sentimental in a weak, insipid way, so as to be sickening… …   English World dictionary

  • mawkish — [17] The underlying meaning of mawkish is ‘maggotish’. It was derived from a now obsolete word mawk, which meant literally ‘maggot’ but was used figuratively (like maggot itself) for a ‘whim’ or ‘fastidious fancy’. Hence mawkish originally meant… …   The Hutchinson dictionary of word origins

  • mawkish — [[t]mɔ͟ːkɪʃ[/t]] ADJ GRADED (disapproval) You can describe something as mawkish when you think it is sentimental and silly. A sordid, sentimental plot unwinds, with an inevitable mawkish ending. Syn: nauseating, soppy …   English dictionary

  • mawkish — adj. Mawkish is used with these nouns: ↑sentiment …   Collocations dictionary

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