·noun A simpleton; a gawk or gawky.
II. Gowk ·noun The European cuckoo;
— called also gawky.
III. Gowk ·vt To make a, booby of one); to Stupefy.
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
The cuckoo; but also used for a stupid, good-natured fellow. ...
The Sailor's Word-Book
Late vernal equinoctial gales contemporary with the gowk or cuckoo. ...