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
For similar parallel forms cp. gowk and goilk; nowt and nolt; howk and holk; lowp and loip; bowdyn and boildin, etc.
From Scandinavian influence on Southern Lowland Scotch by Flom, George Tobias
“Hout,” quo’ she, “ye daft gowk, you should hae stuck it into your bonnet, man.”
From Folk-Lore and Legends Scotland by Anonymous
It is a surprisingly raucous or guttural, almost explosive, yet not very loud note, which I rendered at various times as gwuf, goff, gowk, or gorr.
From The Barren Ground Caribou of Keewatin by Harper, Francis
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
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.
