gawk

English

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɡɔːk/

  • Audio (Southern England):

    (file)

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

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
• gawkish
• gawkling
• gawksome
• gawky

Translations

stupid or clumsy person

• Bulgarian: глупак (bg) m (glupak), дръвник (bg) m (drǎvnik)
• Czech: nemotora m, nemehlo (cs) n
• Finnish: tumpelo (fi), toljake
• Galician: trosma m or f
• Georgian: ლენჩი (lenči), რეგვენი (ka) (regveni)
• Polish: gamoń (pl) m
• Russian: раззява (ru) m (razzjava)
• 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”).

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
• gawkish
• gawkling
• gawksome
• mopery with intent to gawk

Translations

to stare or gape stupidly

• Bulgarian: зяпам (bg) (zjapam), гледам глупаво (gledam glupavo)
• Czech: čučet (cs), čumět (cs), brejlit impf, civět (cs) impf
• Danish: glane, glo, måbe
• Finnish: töllistellä
• French: badauder (fr), bayer aux corneilles (fr), béer (fr)
• Georgian: მიშტერება (mišṭereba), მიჩერება (mičereba)
• German: blöde glotzen
• 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

• Czech: civět (cs) impf
• Finnish: töllöttää (fi), toljottaa
• Georgian: მიშტერება (mišṭereba), მიჩერება (mičereba)
• Serbo-Croatian: buljiti (sh), zuriti (sh)