An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language/Annotated/Knospe

by Friedrich Kluge

Knospe, feminine, ‘bud,’ from Middle High German knospe, masculine, ‘protuberance’; the modern meaning is one of the varied senses in earlier Modern High German; ‘protuberance’ is the primary signification, hence it is natural to connect Knospe etymologically with Knopf; the latter is to be represented in Gothic by *knuppa-, the former by *knuspan- for *knufspan-; in that case -span would be a suffix; *knaspan- may, however, stand for *knusspan-, and be connected with the root knus appearing in Knorre.