means A small, sheltered, often recessed spot — a cozy corner of a room or a quiet out-of-the-way place.

from From Middle English nok, meaning a corner or angle — possibly with Scandinavian roots, as it resembles Norwegian dialectal nok and similar Scandinavian words for a hook or bent thing. Either way the sense has always been about angles and corners: the bent, tucked-away geometry of a place, which is exactly where coziness likes to gather.