A diminutive form pertaining to Knoblauch. The -f- is due to its being derived from dialectal forms. One would expect a German Low German origin (cf. Middle Low Germanknoflōk), but there are also forms with -f- in some southern German dialects (themselves from an Old High German variant chlovalouh). Southern origin is more likely given the regional form Knofel, but Low German would have helped to spread the form in the north.