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gawk

Pronunciation: /ɡɔːk/

The English word “gawk” has 6 meanings listed here.

noun

  1. A cuckoo; (sometimes by extension) any gawky bird.
  2. A fool; a simpleton; a stupid or clumsy person.
  3. A conspicuous or stupid stare or gape; an instance of gawking.

verb

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

Etymology

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.

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