Meanings
noungowpen (plural gowpens)
plural gowpens · alternative gowpin
- ScotlandA bowl made of the two hands cupped together.
it was ordered by Marina, who had it framed and set up in her bedroom next to a picture of her brother at twelve or fourteen clad in a bayronka (open shirt) and cupping a guinea pig in his gowpen (hollowed hands) […]
1969, Vladimir Nabokov, Ada or Ardor, Penguin, published 2011, page 313
Synonyms & antonyms
Also see
Origin
- Old Norsegaupn“hollow made by cupped hands”
- Englishgowpen
From Old Norse gaupn (“hollow made by cupped hands”). Doublet of yepsen.
More words from Old Norse
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Catalan embosta
- embostaTranslations
Finnish kahmalo
- kahmaloTranslations
German Händeschale
- HändeschaleTranslations
Italian giumella
- giumellaTranslations
Norwegian gaupn
- gaupnTranslations
Polish garstka
- garstkaTranslations
Spanish ambuesta
- ambuestaTranslations
Cite this entry
APA
gowpen. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/gowpen
MLA
“gowpen.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/gowpen. Accessed November 3, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “gowpen,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/gowpen.
Source: gowpen on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.