To make a fool of someone; to trick or deceive someone (archaic/dialect form).
From be- + gowk (from Old Norse gaukr meaning 'fool' or 'cuckoo bird'). Related to the English word 'gawk' and Scottish dialect terms; the be- prefix intensifies the meaning of fooling or making a fool of.
The connection to 'cuckoo bird' is delightful—just like a cuckoo acts foolish or deceptive in nature, 'gowk' came to mean a fool, and 'begowk' means to make someone foolish or to trick them, showing how animals become metaphors for human behavior in language.
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