A Scottish dialectal term for a foolish or awkward person, a simpleton or bumbling fellow.
Scottish/Northern English origin; possibly a blend of 'gilly' (a guide or attendant, from Scots Gaelic 'gille') + 'gaup' (to gape or act foolishly, from Old Norse). The -us ending is expressive folk addition.
This word proves that even 'nonsense-sounding' dialect words have real linguistic roots—it's actually a clever Scottish blend combining a Gaelic job title with a verb about looking dumb.
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