gowk

American  

[gouk, gohk] / gaʊk, goʊk /

noun

1. British Dialect. cuckoo.

2. a fool or simpleton.

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gowk British  

/ ɡaʊk /

noun

1. a stupid person; fool

2. a cuckoo

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Etymology

Origin of gowk

1275–1325; Middle English goke < Old Norse gaukr; cognate with Old English gēac, German Gauch

Example Sentences

This is another fun term derived from the cuckoo, known as a gowk in some Scottish dialects.

From Time

The gowk’s-storm is a spring gale, particularly one that occurs at the time the cuckoo flies onto the scene.

From Time

April 1 was traditionally Hunt the Gowk day, although the name is fading out.

From Time

Gowk means cuckoo, and sending a mate on a fool’s errand is the name of the game: you should ask someone to deliver a sealed message asking for help, the contents of which instruct the recipient to pass it along and continue the chain.

From Time

—Is the word spooney derived from the Anglo-Saxon spanan, sp�n, asponen, to allure, entice, and therefore equivalent to one allured, trapped, &c., a gowk or simpleton?

From Project Gutenberg