gowk
Americannoun
-
a stupid person; fool
-
a cuckoo
Etymology
Origin of gowk
1275–1325; Middle English goke < Old Norse gaukr; cognate with Old English gēac, German Gauch
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
This is another fun term derived from the cuckoo, known as a gowk in some Scottish dialects.
From Time • Mar. 20, 2014
He glow'rs like ony silly gowk, He ca's me heavenly fair.
From The Galaxy Vol. XXIII?March, 1877.?No. 3 by Various
La bless ye, she'll play the hangment wi' that a'ad gowk of a lord, and all his goold guineas won't do.
From Checkmate by Le Fanu, Joseph Sheridan
O. N. ou, Dan. ö: blout, bare; douff, dull; gowk, a fool; haugh, a knoll; loup, to 76run; louse, loose; nout, cattle; rowt, to roar; rowst, to cry out; stowp, a beaker; stour, a pole.
From Scandinavian influence on Southern Lowland Scotch by Flom, George Tobias
A gowk at Yule 'll no be bright at Beltane.
From The Proverbs of Scotland by Hislop, Alexander
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
