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Webster 1913 Edition

Nook

Nook

(noŏk; 277)
,
Noun.
[OE.
nok
; cf. Gael. & Ir.
niuc
.]
A narrow place formed by an angle in bodies or between bodies; a corner; a recess; a secluded retreat.
How couldst thou find this dark, sequestered
nook
?
Milton.

Webster 1828 Edition

Nook

NOOK

,
Noun.
[See Nich.] A corner; a narrow place formed by an angle in bodies or between bodies; as a hollow nook.

Definition 2024

nook

nook

English

Noun

nook ‎(plural nooks)

  1. A small corner formed by two walls; an alcove.
    There was a small broom for sweeping ash kept in the nook between the fireplace bricks and the wall.
  2. A hidden or secluded spot.
    The back of the used book shop was one of her favorite nooks; she could read for hours and no one would bother her or pester her to buy.
  3. (historical) An English unit of land area, originally ¼ of a yardland but later 12½ or 20 acres.
    • a. 1634, W. Noye, The Complete Lawyer, 57:
      You must note, that two Fardells of Land make a Nooke of Land, and two Nookes make halfe a Yard of Land.
    • 1903, English Dialectical Dictionary, volume IV, page 295:
      Nook, an old legal term for 12½ acres of land; still in use at Alston.
    • 1968 November 9, The Economist, page 2:
      They poured their wine by the aume or the fust, and cut their cloth by the goad—not to be confused with the gawd, which was a measure of steel. Their nook was not cosy; it covered 20 acres.

Hypernyms

Synonyms

Hyponyms

  • (unit of area): See fardel (½ nook), see acre (various fractions & for further subdivisions)

Derived terms

Translations

Related terms

Etymology

From Middle English noke, nok ‎(“nook, corner, angle”), of uncertain origin. Cognate with Scots neuk, nuk ‎(“corner, angle of a square, angular object”). Perhaps from Old English hnoc, hnocc ‎(“hook, angle”), from Proto-Germanic *hnukkaz, *hnukkô ‎(“a bend”), from Proto-Indo-European *knewg- ‎(“to turn, press”), from Proto-Indo-European *ken- ‎(“to pinch, press, bend”). If so, then also related to Scots nok ‎(“small hook”), Norwegian dialectal nok, nokke ‎(“hook, angle, bent object”), Danish nokke ‎(“hook”), Swedish nocke ‎(“hook”), Faroese nokki ‎(“crook”), Icelandic hnokki ‎(“hook”), Dutch nok ‎(“ridge”), Low German Nocke ‎(“tip”), Old Norse hnúka ‎(“to bend, crouch”), Old English ġehnycned ‎(“drawn, pinched, wrinkled”).

Pronunciation

  • enPR: no͝ok, IPA(key): /nʊk/
  • Rhymes: -ʊk

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