gawk

gawk
I. noun Etymology: probably from English dialect gawk left-handed Date: 1757 a clumsy stupid person ; lout II. intransitive verb Etymology: perhaps alteration of obsolete gaw to stare Date: 1785 to gape or stare stupidly • gawker noun

New Collegiate Dictionary. 2001.

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  • gawk — gawk·ham·mer; gawk·i·ly; gawk·i·ness; gawk·ish; gawk; gawk·ish·ly; gawk·ish·ness; …   English syllables

  • gawk´i|ly — gawk|y «G kee», adjective, gawk|i|er, gawk|i|est, noun, plural gawk|ies. –adj. awkward; clumsy: »A lanky, gawky fellow…tumbles over …   Useful english dictionary

  • gawk|y — «G kee», adjective, gawk|i|er, gawk|i|est, noun, plural gawk|ies. –adj. awkward; clumsy: »A lanky, gawky fellow…tumbles over …   Useful english dictionary

  • gawk — [go:k US go:k] v [Date: 1800 1900; Origin: Perhaps from gawk [i] left, left handed (18 19 centuries)] informal to look at something for a long time, in a way that looks stupid = ↑stare gawk at ▪ Don t just stand there gawking at those girls! …   Dictionary of contemporary English

  • Gawk — (g[add]k), n. [OE. gok, gowk, cuckoo, fool, Icel. gaukr cuckoo; akin to OHG. gouh, G. gauch cuckoo, fool, AS. g[ e]ac cuckoo, Sw. g[ o]k, Dan. gi[ o]g] 1. A cuckoo. Johnson. [1913 Webster] 2. A simpleton; a booby; a gawky. Carlyle. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Gawk — Gawk, v. i. 1. To act like a gawky. [1913 Webster] 2. To stare with empty minded fascination; to stare stupidly; to gape; usually used with at. [PJC] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • gawk — /gawk/, v.i. 1. to stare stupidly; gape: The onlookers gawked at arriving celebrities. n. 2. an awkward, foolish person. [1775 85; appar. repr. OE word meaning fool, equiv. to ga(gol) foolish + oc OCK; used attributively in gawk hand, gallock… …   Universalium

  • gawk — [ gɔk ] verb intransitive INFORMAL to look at someone or something for a long time in a rude or stupid way: gawk at: What are you gawking at? …   Usage of the words and phrases in modern English

  • gawk — (v.) 1785, Amer.Eng., perhaps from gaw, a survival from M.E. gowen to stare (c.1200), from a Scandinavian source akin to O.N. ga to heed, from P.Gmc. *gawon , from PIE *ghow e to honor, revere, worship (see FAVOR (Cf. favor) (n.)); and altered… …   Etymology dictionary

  • gawk — [gôk] n. [prob. var. of GOWK] a clumsy, stupid fellow; simpleton vi. to stare stupidly, like a gawk gawkish adj …   English World dictionary

  • gawk´er — gawk «gk», verb, noun. –v.i. to stare idly, rudely, or stupidly: »Foreign tourists…normally spend freely while gawking at the pyramids (Wall Street Journal). –n. an awkward person; clumsy fool. ╂[perhaps < obsolete gaw stare] –gawk´er, noun …   Useful english dictionary

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