gowk

American  

[gouk, gohk] / gaʊk, goʊk /

noun

1. British Dialect. cuckoo.

2. a fool or simpleton.

---

gowk British  

/ ɡaʊk /

noun

1. a stupid person; fool

2. a cuckoo

---

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 • 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

Ye may say I was a muckle gowk.

From Alec Forbes of Howglen by MacDonald, George

For oy in place of ou, as we should expect, cp. gowk and goilk, lowp and loip, etc., and the Norse laupa and loipa. 64Spae, spa, vb. to prophesy.

From Scandinavian influence on Southern Lowland Scotch by Flom, George Tobias

Probably to be derived from gowk, sb. a fool.

From Scandinavian influence on Southern Lowland Scotch by Flom, George Tobias