gucken

From Middle High German gücken, guggen (“to look inquisitively, peek, peer”), of uncertain origin. Perhaps from a specialised use of Middle High German gücken, gucken (“to cuckoo, call or cry like a cuckoo”), from Old High German guckōn, gukkōn (“to cuckoo”). The pronunciation (and spelling) with k- is commonly explained as an influence of German Low German kieken (from Middle Low German kîken). Note, however, that this pronunciation reaches far to the south (compare Luxembourgish kucken and Dut