Emily Dickinson Lexicon

GAWK, n. [Sax. gæc, geac, a cuckoo; G. gauch, a cuckoo and a fool, an unfledged fop, a chough; Scot. gaukie, guaky, a fool; D. gek; Sw. gäck, a fool, a buffoon; Dan. giek, a jest, a joke. It seems that this word is radically one with joke, juggle, – which see.]

1. A cuckoo.
2. A fool; a simpleton. [In both senses, it is retained in Scotland.]