An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language/Made

by Friedrich Kluge

Made, f., ‘maggot,’ from MidHG. made, m., ‘worm, maggot,’ OHG. mado; corresponding to Du. made, AS. maþa, Goth. maþa, ‘maggot, worm.’ Hence the equiv. OIc. maþkr, m. (with a suffix), from which is derived MidE. maþek, E. mawk, ‘maggot’; Goth. *maþaks (E. maggot is probably not allied). The orig. sense of the OTeut. *maþan-, ‘maggot,’ is perhaps ‘gnawer’; it has been connected with the root mê, ‘to mow’; Motte (MidHG. and ModHG. variant matte) may also be akin.