gawk

English

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɡɔːk/
• Rhymes: -ɔːk
• IPA^(key): /ɡɑk/

Etymology 1

From a variant of gowk, from Middle English gowke, goke, from (deprecated template usage) [etyl] Old Norse gaukr (“cuckoo”), from (deprecated template usage) [etyl] Proto-Germanic *gaukaz (“cuckoo”). Cognate with Danish gøg, Swedish gök, German Gauch, Old English ġēac. More at yeke.

Compare also French gauche, and English gawky and gallock.

Noun

gawk (plural gawks)

1. A cuckoo.

   (Can we find and add a quotation of Johnson to this entry?)

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.

Translations

stupid or clumsy person

• Bulgarian: глупак (bg) m (glupak), дръвник (bg) m (drǎvnik)
• Finnish: tumpelo (fi), toljake
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Galician: trosma m or f
• Georgian: ლენჩი (lenči), რეგვენი (ka) (regveni)
• Polish: gamoń (pl) m

Etymology 2

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

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

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
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• 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
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Georgian: მიშტერება (mišṭereba), მიჩერება (mičereba)
• Serbo-Croatian: buljiti (sh), zuriti (sh)