gowk

[ gouk, gohk ]
/ gaʊk, goʊk /

noun

British Dialect. cuckoo.
a fool or simpleton.

QUIZZES

QUIZ YOURSELF ON THESE WORDS FROM BROWN GIRL DREAMING!

Visualize yourself passing this quiz on words from Jacqueline Woodson’s exquisite verse novel “Brown Girl Dreaming,” and then take the quiz to prove you can do it! (Because you can.)
Question 1 of 10
What does “barren” mean?
a cylindrical wooden container with slightly bulging sides.
Worn down by dullness, tedious repetition.
unproductive; unfruitful
TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Origin of gowk

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

Words nearby gowk

go wilding, go with, go without, go without saying, go with the flow, gowk, gowl, gown, gownsman, go wrong, gox
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

Example sentences from the Web for gowk

British Dictionary definitions for gowk

gowk
/ (ɡaʊk) /

noun Scot and Northern English dialect

a stupid person; fool
a cuckoo

Word Origin for gowk

from Old Norse gaukr cuckoo; related to Old High German gouh
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012