Page:An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language.djvu/206

---

tuberance on plants, bud, pommel of a sword, knot, loop’; comp. AS. *cnopp, m., E. knop, ‘button, bud’; Du. knop, ‘bud, button, knot on plants.’ Goth. *knuppa- is wanting; under Knauf its graded form Goth. *knaupa- was assumed, which would represent *knauppa-, for the stem loses its final b, as is shown in MidHG. knübel, m., ‘knuckle,’ as well as AS. *cnobba, MidE. knobbe, E. knob; comp. also ModDu. knobbel, m., ‘knot, bulb, weal,’ and HG. Knubbe. Besides the words hitherto adduced, from which we may infer an old u root (comp. especially Knauf), there are some abnormal forms, OIc. knappr, ‘button, pommel,’ AS. cnœp, MidE. knap. Comp. Knospe, Knubbe, knüpfen, and Knüppel.

Knorpel, m., ‘gristle,’ from MidHG. knorpel-, knorbel-, bein knospel, ‘cartilage.’ It cannot be certainly decided whether the word is based on a Goth. knuzba- or *knaúrba-; the former is the more probable for grammatical reasons; ModDu. knobbel, ModLG. knusperknaken, ‘cartilaginous bone.’

Knorre, m., ‘knotty excrescence,’ from MidHG. knorre, m., with the equiv. variant knûre, m., ‘knot, protuberance’ (on trees, the body, &c.); knûre also signifies ‘rock, cliff, summit’; in the sense of ‘cuff, push,’ it is connected with MidHG. knüsen (from *knusjan), ‘to push, strike.’ For the other meanings too we must probably proceed from a Goth. word with s (z), as the dial. forms indicate, Suab. Knaus, ‘knob on a loaf,’ Swiss knus, ‘knot, excrescence.’ E. knar, ‘knot in wood,’ MidE. knarre, with the variant knorre, ‘knot, excrescence.’ — OHG. has only the adj. chniurig, ‘knotty, stout, firm,’ derived from *knûr. — Comp. Knospe and Knust.

Knortz, m., ‘snag,’ from MidHG. and OHG. knorz, ‘excrescence, knot’; Dan. knort, Swed. knórt. Allied to the preceding word?.

Knospe, f., ‘bud,’ from MidHG. knospe, m., ‘protuberance’; the modern meaning is one of the varied senses in earlier ModHG.; ‘protuberance’ is the prim. signification, hence it is natural to connect Knospe etymologically with Knopf; the latter is to be represented in Goth. 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.

Knoten, m., ‘knot,’ from MidHG. knote, knode, m., ‘natural knot (on the body and plants), artificial knot in a thread, noose’; OHG. chnodo, chnoto, m. (the OHG. and MidHG. doublets with t and d appear in Knote and Knödel even as late as ModHG.). Allied to AS. cnotta, m., E. knot, with differently related dentals; comp. OIc. ú-knytter, ‘dirty tricks, and MidHG. knotze, f., ‘protuberance’; E. to knit, AS. cnyttan, LG. (Voss) knütte, f., ‘knitting-needles,’ &c. OIc. knútr, m., ‘knot,’ knúta, f., ‘dice’; they are related to AS. knotta, like Goth. *knaupa- to *knuppa- (comp. Knauf and Knopf), and just as a form with a in the stem (AS. cnœpp) is connected with these words, so is OIc. knǫttr (Goth. *knattus), m., ‘ball,’ related to the cognates of Knoten. No indubitably allied term can be adduced from the other Aryan languages. Comp. also Knüttel.

Knöterich, m., ‘knot-grass’; found only in ModHG.

Knubbe, Knuppe, m., ‘knot in wood,’ ModHG. only, from LG. knubbe, the cognates of which see under Knopf. We may also mention MidHG. knübel, to which Knuppe is related, as klauben to Kluppe.

knuffen, vb., ‘to cull,’ wanting in the earlier periods; of obscure origin.

knüpfen, vb., from the equiv. MidHG. knüpfen, OHG. knupfen, ‘to unite, tie, fasten together’ (Goth. *knuppjan is wanting); a nominal vb. from Knopf, which see; MidHG. knopf, ‘knot.’

Knüppel, m., ‘wooden bar, stick, cudgel,’ from LG.; in MidHG. knüpfel, m., ‘cudgel,’ was used. It is connected with MidHG. knopf, ‘knot on plants.’ See Knopf.

Knust, Knaust, m., ‘crusty piece of bread,’ prop. ‘protuberance,’ especially ‘corner of a loaf,’ from LG.; t is a suffix; for knûs- in the sense of ‘knot,’ see under Knorre.

Knute, f., ‘knout,’ ModHG. only; borrowed from Russ. knut; comp. Peitsche.

Knüttel, m., from the equiv. MidHG. knütel, knüttel, OHG. chnutil, m., ‘cudgel,’ prop. ‘stick or string with knots’; allied to Knoten.

Kobalt, m., ‘cobalt,’ ModHG. only; of uncertain origin, probably equiv. to Kobold.

Koben, m., ‘hovel,’ from MidHG. kobe, m., ‘stable, pigsty, cage’; the ModHG. variant Kofen is derived, as the f indicates,