gawk

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

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. More at yeke.

Compare also French gauche, and English gawky and gallock.

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.

Perhaps from English dialectal gaw (“to stare; gawk”) +‎ -k, as in talk, stalk, etc., ultimately from Old Norse gá (“to heed”)[1].

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

• gawker