gawk

gawk

English

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɡɔːk/

  • Audio (UK)

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• Rhymes: -ɔːk
• (cot–caught merger, Canada) IPA^(key): /ɡɑk/

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.

Noun

gawk (plural gawks)

1. A cuckoo.
2. A fool; a simpleton; a stupid or clumsy person.
   • 1855 Thomas Carlyle, The Prinzenraub, Westminster Review

     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.

Derived terms

• gawk-handed

Translations

stupid or clumsy person

Bulgarian: глупак (bg) m (glupak), дръвник (bg) m (drǎvnik) Finnish: tumpelo (fi), toljake Galician: trosma m or f Georgian: ლენჩი (lenči), რეგვენი (ka) (regveni) Polish: gamoń (pl) m Spanish: mentecato (es) m or f

Etymology 2

Perhaps from English dialectal gaw (“to stare; gawk”) +‎ -k, as in talk, stalk, etc., ultimately from Old Norse gá (“to heed”)[1].

Verb

gawk (third-person singular simple present gawks, present participle gawking, simple past and past participle gawked)

1. To stare or gape stupidly.
2. To stare conspicuously.

   Synonyms: see Thesaurus:stare

3. (colloquial, vulgar) To suck.

Derived terms

• gawker

Translations

to stare or gape stupidly

Bulgarian: зяпам (bg) (zjapam), гледам глупаво (gledam glupavo) Czech: čučet (cs), čumět (cs) Danish: glane, glo, måbe Finnish: töllistellä Georgian: მიშტერება (mišṭereba), მიჩერება (mičereba) Maori: titiro māhoi, titiro mākutu, titiro whakatau Polish: gapić się (pl) Russian: тара́щиться (ru) impf (taráščitʹsja), пя́литься (ru) impf (pjálitʹsja), смотре́ть с глу́пым ви́дом impf (smotrétʹ s glúpym vídom) Serbo-Croatian: blenuti (sh), buljiti (sh) Slovak: čumieť, očumovať

to stare conspicuously

Finnish: töllöttää (fi), toljottaa Georgian: მიშტერება (mišṭereba), მიჩერება (mičereba) Serbo-Croatian: buljiti (sh), zuriti (sh)

References

1. Douglas Harper (2001–2023), “gawk”, in Online Etymology Dictionary.