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Gawk

//ɡɔːk// noun, verb, slang

Definitions

Noun

1
A cuckoo; (sometimes by extension) any gawky bird.
"His morning prey he craveth; So crowed the gawk of carrion⁶ […] (6) Gawk of carrion = [kenning for] raven."
2
A conspicuous or stupid stare or gape; an instance of gawking.
"... the gawks and gapes of townsfolk as stares of admiration."
3
an awkward stupid person wordnet
4
A fool; a simpleton; a stupid or clumsy person.
"A Duke of Weissenfels, for instance; foolish old gawk, whom Wilhehnina Princess Royal recollects for his distracted notions, — which were well shaken out of him by Wilhelmina's Brother afterwards."

Verb

1
To stare or gape stupidly.
2
look with amazement; look stupidly wordnet
3
To stare conspicuously.
4
To suck. colloquial, vulgar

Etymology

Etymology 1

From a variant of gowk, from Middle English gowke, goke, from Old Norse gaukr (“cuckoo”), from Proto-Germanic *gaukaz (“cuckoo”). Cognate with Danish gøg, Swedish gök, German Gauch, Old English ġēac. Compare also French gauche, and English gawky and gallock.

Etymology 2

Perhaps from English dialectal gaw (“to stare; gawk”) + -k, as in talk, stalk, etc., ultimately from Old Norse gá (“to heed”).

Etymology 3

Perhaps from English dialectal gaw (“to stare; gawk”) + -k, as in talk, stalk, etc., ultimately from Old Norse gá (“to heed”).

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