English Explanatory Dictionary

gawk

English dictionary entry

Meanings

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

Pronunciation

/ɡɔːk/ LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-gawk.wav /ɡɑk/

Word forms

gawk gawks gawking gawked

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.

Synonyms

gaw gloar glom stare

Derived words

gawk-handed gawky gawkish gawkling gawksome gawker mopery with intent to gawk
This entry uses open data from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA/GFDL). Word forms are used for search and are not indexed as separate pages.
Back to search All on G Russian dictionary Dahl dictionary