Meaning
Thin, skinny, meagre — of a person, an animal, or by extension anything scant or poorly fed. A 'maaga dawg' is a scrawny stray; a 'maaga' harvest or pay is a small, disappointing one. It carries a note of hard times or neglect, and turns up in proverb about the underdog who bites back.
Examples
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Di dawg maaga bad, nobody nah feed it.
The dog is very skinny; nobody feeds it.
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Yuh look maaga, yuh nah eat?
You look thin — aren't you eating?
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A maaga pay dat fi so much work.
That's meagre pay for so much work.
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Di dog dem maga, dem nuh get no food.
The dogs are skinny, they haven't been fed.
'Dem' pluralises 'dog'; no copula before 'maga.'
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Yuh get maga since mi last si yuh!
You've gotten thin since I last saw you!
Often said with concern about someone's health.
Origin
From English 'meagre'. Common in the proverb about a dog turning to bite. See Dawg.
How it’s used
Thin/skinny; can describe scant pay or a poor harvest. Not itself an insult, but often unkind.