▪ I. nook, n.
(nʊk)
Forms: α. 3–4 nok, 4–6 noke, 5–7 nooke, 6– nook; 6 noque, 4, 6–7 nouke. β. north. and Sc. 5–6 nuk, nwke, 5–7, 9 nuke, 6 nucke (9 nuck); 5 noik, 6 nwik, nuike, 6–7, 9 nuik (9 nuick); 6, 8–9 neuk (9 neuck), newk (6 newke), 9 niuk; 8–9 north. neak.
[Of obscure origin; the early examples are northern, and the word has most dialect currency in the north, but the earliest trace of it appears in Layamon in the adj. four-nooked.
The forms prove a ME. nōk, to which the only parallel seems to be a Norw. dial. nōk, recorded by Aasen & Ross with the sense of ‘hook, bent figure, bent or contracted person’, etc.; whether this is the same word is very doubtful, although a Scand. origin seems probable. Ir. and Sc. Gaelic niuc is clearly from northern of Sc. neuk, newk.]
1. A corner of a square or angular thing (such as a piece of cloth or paper), or of a figure bounded by straight lines. Now rare.
| α a 1300 Cursor M. 19845 A mikel linnen clath four squar..At nokes four, four listes lang. 13.. On learning Music in Rel. Antiq. I. 292 Summe notes arn shorte and somme a long noke. 13.. Gaw. & Gr. Knt. 660 Vchone halched in oþer,..& fyched vpon fyue poyntez,..With-outen ende at any noke. a 1440 Sir Degrev. 165 He held the lettre by the nooke. 1551 Recorde Pathw. Knowl. i. Def., A cantle..cutte out with two lynes drawen from the centre to the circumference..if it be not parted from the reste of the circle..is called a nooke. 1605 Verstegan Dec. Intell. (1634) 150 A nooke or corner being in our ancient language called a kant or cantell. 1640 H. Glapthorne Wit in a Constable ii. Wks. 1874 I. 189 The custard with the foure and twenty Nooks At my Lord Majors feast. a 1795 in Child Ballads III. 163/1 In every hand he took a nook Of that great leathern meal [= bag]. 1824 Byron Juan xvi. xxvii, Couch'd all snugly on his pillow's nook, With what he had seen his phantasy he fed. 1897 Austin Clare Rise of River 194 The lamb was slung in the nook of his plaid. |
| β c 1520 M. Nisbet N.T. Acts x. 11 A vessel cummand doun, as a gret schete with iiij newkis. 1583 Leg. Bp. St. Androis 819 in Satir. Poems Reform. 380 Ten pundis stirling furth he tuike, And knit it in a neapkyn nucke. a 1600 [see plaid 5]. c 1800 Auld Maitland xxviii. in Scott Minstr. Border (1869) 155 He..caught the standard by the neuk. 1826 T. Wilson Pitman's Pay (1843) 10 For dishclout serves her apron nuik. 1871 W. Alexander Johnny Gibb x. 76 A laddie wi' a tartan plaid.., an' a' 's [= all his] spare claise i' the neuk o't. |
b. A corner of a thing regarded as a separate portion; a piece or fragment; a part. Now rare.
In early use only in farthing('s) nook; in later examples chiefly of a pie or pasty.
| c 1300 Havelok 820 Al þat he þer-fore tok, With-held he nouth a ferþinges nok. 1303 R. Brunne Handl. Synne 5810. 1338 ― Chron. (1810) 28 Siluer for Southwales not a ferþing noke; Oþer treuage he sette, a þousand kie he toke. 1513 Douglas æneis x. xii. 27 A stane..Quhilk of a montane semyt a gret nuike. 1728 Vanbr. & Cib. Prov. Husb. ii. i, The Nook that's left o' th' Goose Poy. 1819 Scott Ivanhoe xvii, Thou shalt be welcome to a nook of pasty. 1887 S. Cheshire Gloss. s.v., A good nook o' the money was gone. |
c. A corner or angular piece of land; a small triangular field; † also, in early use, a certain measure of land (see quot. a 1634).
| [? a 1300 in Madox Form. Anglic. (1702) 424 Legavit Christinæ filiæ suæ unam Nocham terræ. 1331 in Blount Law Dict. (1670) s.v. Nok, Tradidi..Henrico Adams unum mes & unam nokam terræ. a 1400 in Dugdale Monast. Angl. (1671) II. 331 Unam virgatam terræ..et tres nocas terræ.] 1603 Laing Charters (Anderson) 351 Lands..of which..the other portion lies in the ‘Conyflett’ and is called the ‘nuik’. 1606 in Trans. Cumb. & West. Archæol. Soc. (N.S.) III. (1903) 153 His gapp or Yaite between the Meare Stone and the Intake Nooke. a 1634 Noy Compl. Lawyer 57 You must note, that two Fardells of Land make a Nooke of Land, and two Nookes make halfe a Yard of Land. 1665 Hist. Springfield (1899) II. 214 There is grannted to Lawrence Bliss Some Small nookes & Strappets of Meddow & Swamp lying in the corners of his meddow. 1753 MS. Indenture (Mappleton, Derby), Land..called Tibdale goats nook. 1899 Cumberld. Gloss. s.v., A designative term for a small field or farm—Low Wood Nook, High Nook. |
† d. One of the ‘corners’ of the earth. Obs.—1
| a 1400–50 Alexander 4831 Ȝit fand he clouen þurȝe þe clynt twa crasid gatis, Ane to þe noke of þe north, a-nothire to þe est. |
e. A point of land running into the sea; a headland or promontory; also, a piece of ground projecting from one division into another and terminating in a point. Now rare.
| 1487 Barbour's Bruce iv. 556 (Cambr. MS.), Gif he seis we land ma ta, On Turnberyis nwk [v.r. snuke] he may Mak a fyre. 1536 Bellenden Chron., Cosmogr. vi. (1821) I. p. xxix, Galloway rinnis with ane gret snout of craggis..in the Ireland seis. This snout is callit be the peple the Mulis Nuk. 1577 Harrison Descr. Scotl. iii. in Holinshed, As for Galloway it selfe, it yeeldeth out a great point promontory or cape (which the Scots call a Mule or Nuke) into the Irish Sea. 1596 Dalrymple tr. Leslie's Hist. Scot. i. 5 That syde quhilke lyes to ffrance hes twa nuikes, of quhilkes the ane lyes to Kent, the vther to the South. 1610 Holland Camden's Brit. (1637) 323 Britaine heere [in Kent] runneth out with a mightie nooke, or corner into the East, and I haue observed, that such a kind of nooke in Scotland is called, Cantir. 1667 Primatt City & C. Build. 106 A Platform for two Houses, the ground lying with a Nuke. Ibid. 163 Any Map or Plat of ground, if it hath never so many Nukes and Corners, may be reduced into Triangles. 1713 Arbuthnot John Bull ii. iv, He wants my poor little Farm, because it makes a Nook in his Park-wall. 1855 Robinson Whitby Gloss., Neuk, an angle of a field. |
| fig. 1671 M. Bruce Gd. News (1708) 48, I trow in stead of Waiting, many a one of us be come to the far nook of our Patience. |
2. A corner of a house or other building, of any erection or upright object, of a street, etc. Chiefly north. and Sc.
| a 1300 Cursor M. 17675 Bi nokes four þe hous up hang. a 1300 E.E. Psalter cxvii. 22 Þe stane whilk biggand forsoke, It es made in heved of þe noke. c 1375 Lay Folks Mass Bk. (MS. B) 88 Þo prest..stands turnande his boke at þo south auter noke. c 1520 Nisbet N.T. Matt. vi. 5 Ypocritis that luvis to pray standand in synagogis and newkis of stretis. 1579 Reg. Privy Council Scot. III. 189 The inner barmkin of the said hous, and the tour upoun the south nuke of the samin. 1785 Burns Ep. W. Simpson Postscr. v, 'Twas the auld moon turn'd a newk An' out o' sight. 1811 Sporting Mag. XXXVII. 131 He offered V.C. a shilling to..shoot at me as I turned a hedge nook. 1851 Greenwell Coal-trade Terms, Northumb. & Durh. 37 Nook (Neuk).—One of the corners of a working place at the face; also, the corner of a pillar of coal. 1880 Watt Poet. Sketches 113 Roun' the first nook we gang he'll be standin'. |
3. An interior angle formed by the meeting of two walls or similar boundaries; a corner in a room or other enclosed space.
See also chimney-nook (chimney n. 11) and ingle-nook.
| α 13.. E.E. Allit. P. C. 278 He lurkkes & laytes where was le best, In vche a nok of his nauel. c 1440 Alph. Tales 91 Þis womman layde hur down in a noke of his cell & slepyd. c 1450 St. Cuthbert (Surtees) 3519 Þen oute of his bedd noke Fyue vnyons þeyn he toke. 1601 Holland Pliny II. 492 The Statues..were set vp in the cornered nouke of the Comitium at Rome. 1617 Fletcher Mad Lover iii. ii, Not a nook of hell, Not the most horrid pit, shall harbour thee. 1725 De Foe Voy. round World (1840) 59, I caused him to be set down in a nook of the cabin. 1812 H. & J. Smith Rej. Addr., Tale of Drury Lane, Forth from thy nook John Horner come. 1822 Galt Sir A. Wylie xlix, I'll take a nook in the carriage wi' you as far as the road lies in my way. 1877 Mrs. Forrester Mignon I. 4 There were so many nooks and corners in the..room. |
| β c 1375 Sc. Leg. Saints xviii. (Egipciane) 609 Bot of þe ȝard in til a nuke I restyt me. c 1470 Henry Wallace ii. 372 A rousty suerd in a noik he saw stand. 1500–20 Dunbar Poems xxvi. 111 Syne ran a feynd to feche Makfadȝane, Far northwart in a nuke. 1575–6 Durham Depos. (Surtees) 267 The said Thomas laye in a newke nigh the fier. 1725 Ramsay Gentle Sheph. ii. i, A large ham hangs reesting in the neuk. 1787 Burns Holy Fair xx, While some are cozie i' the neuk, And forming assignations. 1802 R. Anderson Cumbld. Ball. (c 1850) 49 My fadder started i' the nuik. 1894 R. Reid Kirkbride vii. Poems 4 I'll wait for the comin' o' God..In a neuk o' the auld Kirkbride. |
b. An out-of-the-way corner in or among buildings or similar surroundings.
| a 1352 Minot Poems (ed. Hall) vii. 5 Ȝit in many priue nokes May men find of Merlin bokes. 1375 Barbour Bruce xvii. 93 Thai..held thame in ane nwke preue, Quhill at the nycht suld passit be. c 1400 Mandeville (Roxb.) xi. 44 In a nuke of þe citee es þe bathe of oure Lord. 1500–20 Dunbar Poems xx. 33 Be thow not ane roundar in the nwke. c 1560 A. Scott Poems (S.T.S.) iv. 3 Hant nocht in hoile or nuke, To hurt ȝour womanheid. 1620 Nottingham Rec. IV. 369 Greatte disorder as ther is in divers places..in nookes and back sides. a 1677 Barrow Serm. Wks. 1716 II. 155 As if the King should cause his Edicts to be set up in the blindest and dirtiest nook of the Suburbs. 1785 Cowper Let. to J. Hill 25 June, I write in a nook that I call my boudoir. 1828 Scott F.M. Perth xxxii, Others dragged from some nook the stupified Bonthron. 1852 Mrs. Stowe Uncle Tom's C. xiv. 121 He would climb to a nook among the cotton-bales of the upper deck. |
c. Any small corner or recess. Also fig.
| a 1400–50 Alexander 506 Fast scho flekirs about his fete..And þar it nestild in a noke as it a nest were. 1576 Newton Lemnie's Complex. (1633) 92 They that have the nookes and cells of their braine slenderly moist. 1582 Stanyhurst æneis iv. (Arb.) 106, I doe craue (yf toe prayers as yeet soom nouke be reserued). 1667 Milton P.L. i. 705 A third..had form'd..A various mould, and from the boyling cells..fill'd each hollow nook. 1721 Ramsay Lucky Spence vi, Ryp ilka pouch frae nook to nook. 1818 Scott Br. Lamm. v, Shame be in my meal-poke,..and your hand aye in the nook of it! 1851 Goold in Owen's Wks. VI. 88 No nook of the heart is left unsearched. |
d. A place or spot having the character of a recess shut in by rocks, trees, etc.; a secluded or sheltered place among natural scenery.
| 1555 W. Watreman Fardle Facions Z j, He vanisshed in a noque of the hille, beynge soubdenly ouercaste with a cloude. 1581 J. Derricke Image Irel. D iij, So do thei [eagles] kepe in wildest Nokes. 1628 Wither Brit. Rememb. ii. 1635 Through Nookes, & Corners, she pursu'd the Chase. 1667 Milton P.L. ix. 277 As in a shadie nook I stood behind. 1794 Cowper Needless Alarm 40 The hasty brook, Struggling, detain'd in many a petty nook. 1810 Scott Lady of L. i. viii, In the deep Trosachs' wildest nook His solitary refuge took. 1856 Stanley Sinai & Pal. ii. (1858) 141 These trees,..secluded as they are in their retired nooks on the heights of Lebanon. 1873 Hamerton Intell. Life i. v. 29 He explored the whole neighbourhood, looking into every nook and cranny of it. |
e. A small or sheltered creek or inlet.
| 1582 Stanyhurst æneis i. (Arb.) 22 Theare stands far stretching a nouke vplandish: an Island..hath framed an hauen. 1610 Shakes. Temp. i. ii. 227 Safely in harbour Is the Kings shippe, in the deepe Nooke. 1661 Proclamation Chas. II 1 The great plenty of Fish, wherewith the..Nooks and Lakes of our Dominions doth abound. 1725 Portland Papers (Hist. MSS. Comm.) VI. 116 A large nook or recess in those banks..which they are informed by tradition was formerly a Haven. 1884 Pae Eustace 8 In a sheltered nook close under the high bank lay a boat. |
4. An outlying, remote, or secluded part of a country, region, etc., or of the world.
| c 1375 Sc. Leg. Saints xxvii. (Machor) 658 Hou ma we þane þis word fulfil þat in a nuk here lyis stil. 1536 Bellenden Cron. Scot. (1821) I. 161 Ye, quhilkis ar heir in the farrest nuik of the warld. 1581 Burne Disput. in Cath. Tract. (S.T.S.) 140 He meruellis hou that Scotland being bot ane nuke of the varld [etc.]. 1609 Holland Amm. Marcell. xxxi. iii. 404 A strange and unknowne kind of people before time,..risen from out of a secret nouke. 1631 Bolton Comf. Affl. Consc. vi. (1635) 37 That thou shouldest bee borne and bred and brought up, in this little neglected nooke of the world. 1702 C. Mather Magn. Chr. i. vi. (1852) 83 As genteel persons as most that ever visited these nooks of America. 1784 Cowper Task ii. 207 While yet a nook is left Where English minds and manners may be found. 1842 Tennyson Epic 9 How all the old honour had from Christmas gone,..or dwindled down to some odd games In some odd nooks like this. 1878 Browning La Saisiaz 12 The news of that rare nook Yet untroubled by the tourist. |
| fig. 1632 Milton Penseroso 90 What vast Regions hold The immortal mind that hath forsook Her mansion in this fleshly nook. |
5. attrib., as † nook-cantle (see quot.); nook-rib, Arch. a rib in the corner of a vault; nook-window, a window in the corner of a room next the fire-place.
| 1551 Recorde Pathw. Knowl. i. Def., Sometimes..a cantle is cutte out with two lynes drawen from the centre to the circumference,..and then maie it be called a nooke cantle. 1835 Willis Archit. Middle Ages 367 Sometimes octagon nook-ribs are used with cylindrical shafts. 1885 Hall Caine Shadow of a Crime 118 They put her in a great armchair and wheeled her into her place by the neuk window. |
▪ II. nook, v. rare.
(nʊk)
[f. the n.]
a. intr. To hide in a corner. b. trans. To chip off, so as to form corners. c. To set in a corner; to conceal.
| 1611 Middleton & Dekker Roaring Girl H, Hang. Shall the ambuscado lie in one place? Curt. No, nooke thou yonder. 1789 Brand Newcastle II. 681 The hewer first digs as far as he can into the bottom of the stratum; then he nooks or corners off the part measured off. 1840 Tait's Mag. VII. 345 The elder tree, growing by the little wicket, or nooked in a corner of the garden. 1899 Birmingham Daily Post 29 Apr. (E.D.D.), He heard them talk about ‘nooking’ the boots, by which he understood they meant to hide them. |
▪ III. nook
var. nuke n.2