A dialectal or archaic term meaning to retch, gag, or make a choking sound.
From Middle English and Old English roots possibly related to 'cough' or onomatopoeia mimicking a choking sound. The exact etymology is uncertain, but it appears in regional British dialects. The 'k' ending suggests Germanic origins.
Cowk is one of those delightfully specific dialectal words that describes a very particular sound—the kind of regional vocabulary that's disappearing as dialects fade, which is why linguists try to document them before they vanish!
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