English
knob
Knob comes from Middle Low German knobbe ‘knob, knot in wood, bud’.
- Middle Low Germanc. 1200–1600knobbe‘knob, knot in wood, bud’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500same form
- Englishearliest quotation 1995knob
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Earlier history uncertain.
Lineage
- Middle Low Germanc. 1200–1600knobbe‘knob, knot in wood, bud’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500same form
- Englishearliest quotation 1995knob
Earliest quotation: 1995, Nick Hornby, High Fidelity: “One morning, maybe three weeks after my last grapple…”
The story
From Middle English knobbe, from Middle Low German knobbe (‘knob, knot in wood, bud’), probably ultimately from a variant of Proto-Germanic *knappô (‘knob, lump’), one of several kn- words related to *knudaną (‘to knead’). Also compare Middle English knap, knappe (‘small projection, knob (button, tassel, tuft, etc.), hill, hilltop, etc.)’), from Old English cnæp, cnæpp (‘summit, top’), which is possibly related to Old Norse knappr (‘small projection, knob (button, head of a stick, etc.)’) (whence English knop), from Proto-Germanic *knappô (‘knob, lump’), *knuppô (‘lump, clod’). For the sense of a rounded hill, see nab and knab.
Every English word from Middle Low German knobbe
Today it means
noun A rounded protuberance, especially one arising from a flat surface; a fleshy lump or caruncle.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Middle Low German knobbe / knob