The cuckoo; but also used for a stupid, good-natured fellow.
·noun A simpleton; a gawk or gawky. II. Gowk ·noun The European cuckoo; — called also gawky. III....
Webster's Dictionary of the English Language
1) a fool, also a cuckoo. N. 2) the core of an apple, &c. Cumberland. ...
A glossary of provincial and local words used in England by Francis Grose
Late vernal equinoctial gales contemporary with the gowk or cuckoo. ...
The Sailor's Word-Book