nook
Plural: nooks
Noun
- A small, secluded, or sheltered corner or recess.
- a sheltered and secluded place
- an interior angle formed by two meeting walls
- A small corner formed by two walls; an alcove.
- A hidden or secluded spot; a secluded retreat.
- A recess, cove or hollow.
- An English unit of land area, originally ¹⁄₄ of a yardland but later 12+¹⁄₂ or 20 acres.
- A corner of a piece of land; an angled piece of land, especially one extending into other land.
- The vagina-like genitalia of a troll, featured in Homestuck fanworks but not in canon.
Verb
- To withdraw into a nook.
- To situate in a nook.
Examples
- She often found winning words tucked away in a tiny nook of her mental lexicon.
- 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.
- There was a small broom for sweeping ash kept in the nook between the fireplace bricks and the wall.
Origin / Etymology
From Middle English noke, nok (“nook, corner, angle”), of uncertain origin. 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 nok (“hook”), Swedish nock (“ridge”), Faroese nokki (“crook”), Icelandic hnokki (“hook”), Dutch nok (“ridge”) or Dutch hoek (“corner”), Low German Nocke (“tip”), Old Norse hnúka (“to bend, crouch”), Old English ġehnycned (“drawn, pinched, wrinkled”). Also cognate with Scots neuk, nuk (“corner, angle of a square, angular object”).
Scrabble Score: 8
nook: valid Scrabble (US) TWL Wordnook: valid Scrabble Word in Merriam-Webster MW Dictionary
nook: valid Scrabble Word in International Collins CSW Dictionary