From Old English 'moththe,' probably from PIE *mut- (to gnaw) — named for the larva that chews wool, not the winged adult.
A chiefly nocturnal insect of the order Lepidoptera, typically having feathered or threadlike antennae and drab coloring, distinguished from butterflies by these and other features.
From Old English 'moþþe' or 'moþþa' (moth, also moth larva or maggot), from Proto-Germanic *muþþō, possibly from PIE *mut- (to cut, to gnaw). If this etymology is correct, the moth was named not for its adult winged form but for its destructive larval stage — the caterpillar that gnaws through fabric, grain, and other stored goods. The moth is thus 'the gnawer,' a name born from the frustration of finding
The word 'moth' likely refers not to the graceful flying adult but to the destructive larval grub that eats through clothing. When the Bible says 'where moth and rust destroy' (Matthew 6:19), the ancient authors had in mind exactly what Anglo-Saxon speakers named: the gnawing worm in the wardrobe.