In a foolish or silly manner; in the way a gowk (fool) would behave.
From 'gowked' (adjective meaning foolish) plus the adverb suffix '-ly'. A Scottish or dialectal formation creating an adverbial form from the noun 'gowk'.
Stacking suffixes like 'gowk' + '-ed' + '-ly' shows how English builds words modularly—you can add grammar layers to turn a noun for 'fool' into an adverb describing foolish action.
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