gawk
/ɡɔːk/
Word Rarity
Very rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.40 in modern English
12
Scrabble Score
4
Letters
1
Syllables
4
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
A fool; a simpleton; a stupid or clumsy person.
verb
To stare conspicuously.
Example Sentences
- "His morning prey he craveth; So crowed the gawk of carrion⁶ […] (6) Gawk of carrion = [kenning for] raven."
- "Some sneakingly fly watching, as the hawk; Or, as a Cuckoo, grow to limb as a gawk."
- "I WONDER if you know the cuckoos. […] In Scotlad the popular name for the cuckoo is "the gawk," which means fool. […] But our American cuckoos are a long way from gawks. Indeed many farmers consider them fine weather prophets."
- "[…] threw into a market crate regretfully a somewhat gawky, long-legged youngster that was otherwise exceptionally fine. A neighbour rescued the gawk from the market crate and the two birds as cocks competed in a local show. The "gawk" won. Why? […] the gawk [appeared] of good station."
- "[…] cuckoos proper have fourteen cervical vertebrae and no feather crest. The ejection urge is well developed in them. The gawks [:] There are three genera with thirteen species of gawks. A. THICK-BILLED CUCKOOS (Pachycoccyx) have only one species[…]"
- "A Duke of Weissenfels, for instance; foolish old gawk, whom Wilhehmina Princess Royal recollects for his distracted notions, — which were well shaken out of him by Wilhelmina's Brother afterwards."