inglenook meaning: definition, etymology and quotations

inglenook

noun

UK /ˈɪŋɡ(ə)lnʊk/ · US /ˈɪŋɡəlˌnʊk/

Etymology From ingle (“open fireplace”) + nook.

Architecture Historical A nook or corner beside an open fireplace; a chimney corner.

I ſat me in the ingle nook, / And joked wi my luver, / But a' the jokes that I cou'd crack, / The deel a ane could muve her.1797 May, E. S. J., “A Song”, in Sylvanus Urban [pseudonym; Edward Cave], editor, The Gentleman’s Magazine, and Historical Chronicle, volume LXVII, part I, number V, London: […] John Nichols, […], →OCLC, page 423, column 2:
The ingle-nook ſupplies the ſimmer-fields, / An' aft as mony gleefu' maments yields.1799, Robert Fergusson, “An Eclogue. […]”, in The Poetical Works of R. Fergusson, Paisley, Renfrewshire: R. Smith, […], →OCLC, page 80:

4 more examples

Could we find a Hamilton to write a tale in Gaelic, for the ingle-nooks of our cottagers, we might expect a speedy reform. The Highlanders are fond of tales, and there does not seem to be a better method of pointing out to them the advantages of activity and cleanliness, than dispersing among them a few stories drawn up with ability.1813, George Steuart Mackenzie, “Political Economy”, in General View of the Agriculture of the Counties of Ross and Cromarty. […], London: […] Sherwood, Neely, and Jones, […], →OCLC, section 8 (Healthiness of the Country, Mode of Living, &c.), pages 326–327:
May the Forest still flourish, both Borough and Landward, / From the hall of the Peer to the herd's ingle-nook; / And huzza! my brave hearts, for Buccleuch and his standard, / For the King and the Country, the Clan and the Duke.1815 December 1, [Walter Scott; James Hogg], “The Lifting of the Banner”, in The Ettricke Garland; being Two Excellent New Songs on the Lifting of the Banner of the House of Buccleuch, at the Great Foot-ball Match on Carterhaugh, Dec. 4, 1815, Edinburgh: […] James Ballantyne and Co., →OCLC, page 5:
[O]ne [chair], distinguished by capacious arms, a high stuffed back, and red cushions, was placed close to the ingle nook, the accustomed seat of the father of the family.1822 May 1, “The Smuggler”, in The Atheneum; or, Spirit of the English Magazines, volume 11, Boston, Mass.: Munroe and Francis, […], →OCLC, page 103, column 1:
Alice was removed to the residence of the older Noland, where she was welcomed with a rough but honest kindness, and old Margaret was installed in the ingle nook.1838 December 22, “the Old Sailor” [pseudonym], “Robin Hood’s Bay”, in William, Robert Chambers, editors, Chambers’s Edinburgh Journal, volume VII, number 360, Edinburgh: […] W[illiam] S[omerville] Orr and Co., […], published 1839, →OCLC, page 378, column 2:

Related terms: conversation pit