nook

Meaning

1. A small corner formed by two walls; an alcove.
2. A hidden or secluded spot; a secluded retreat.
3. A recess, cove or hollow.
4. An English unit of land area, originally ¹⁄₄ of a yardland but later 12+¹⁄₂ or 20 acres.
5. A corner of a piece of land; an angled piece of land, especially one extending into other land.
6. The vagina-like genitalia of a troll, featured in Homestuck fanworks but not in canon.

corner

out-of-the-way place

remote place

safehold

home site

quiet spot

Frequency

Pronounced as (IPA)

/nʊk/

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 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”).