Scottish National Dictionary (1700–)
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First published 1956 (SND Vol. IV). Includes material from the 2005 supplement.
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.
Quotation dates: 1824-1913, 1988
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†GOW, n.1, v.1 Also ¶ghyouw. [′gʌu, †′gjʌu]
I. n. A fool, a stupid creature (Wgt. 1955); "one addicted to merry-andrewing" (Wgt. 1880 G. Fraser Lowland Lore 157); applied sometimes, esp. in fun, to a petted, pampered animal (Wgt. 1905 E.D.D. Suppl.). Dim. gowie.Gall. 1824 MacTaggart Gallov. Encycl. 223:
What a difference there is between this bard, and the one just sketched. John Gerrond the gow, and George Wishart the sage.Kcb. 1828 W. McDowall Poems 21:
At her ain calf, the stupid gow, She prances, stens, an' kicks.Dmf. 1866 Carlyle Life in London (Froude) II. 331:
Ghyouw — a name my mother had for any big ill-shaped awkward object — would sometimes call me, not in ill-humour, half in good, "Thou Ghyouw."Wgt. 1885 G. Fraser Poems 63:
I . . . was feared the folk near Wad notice me looking an' acting the gow.Ayr. 1913 W. McKissock Poems 38:
O, Mary's that, an' no' a gow. [p. 50, gowie.]Kcb. 1913 G. M. Gordon Clay Biggin' 88:
Tae say guid bye til his wee wuman wud hae gar't him fair brak doon an' mak a perfect gow o' himsel'.Ags. 1988 Raymond Vettese The Richt Noise 13:
There's monie a gow gaed aifter a wile,
fu-shair o't, yet fun', disjaskit, sair daith,
no hecht o life.
Hence gowishness, fantastical behaviour.Gall. 1824 MacTaggart Gallov. Encycl. 224:
His madness is ratherly that of a poet's. In truth, his Red Lion Frolic is as fine a specimen of gowishness as I have seen.
II. v. To play the fool (Wgt. 1955).
[Orig. somewhat doubtful. Phs. a diphthongal variant of Goo, n.2 Cf. Eng. gull.]You may wish to vary the format shown below depending on the citation style used.
"Gow n.1, v.1". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 9 Apr 2026 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/snd/gow_n1_v1>
