Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun A nook or corner beside an open fireplace.
  • noun A bench, especially either of two facing benches, placed in a nook or corner beside a fireplace.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun architecture A corner or nook beside an open fireplace.
  • noun architecture A bench or seat placed in a fireplace inglenook.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun a corner by a fireplace

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[ingle + nook.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

ingle + nook.

Support

Help support Wordnik (and make this page ad-free) by adopting the word inglenook.

Examples

  • • The living room inglenook was recreated by the previous owners using old photographs and distinguishing marks on the floor and fireplace.

    Wright Plus Weekend Begins! 2008

  • Finally he lit his pipe, and sitting in the inglenook of the old village inn he talked slowly and at random about his case, rather as one who thinks aloud than as one who makes a considered statement.

    Chennai 2010

  • A very wide fireplace would be the focal point of one wall, almost like an inglenook in Arts and Crafts homes.

    Archive 2009-06-01 Hels 2009

  • A very wide fireplace would be the focal point of one wall, almost like an inglenook in Arts and Crafts homes.

    My Dream Home: green, airy, full of treasures Hels 2009

  • That's me chilling at the inglenook in the red glow of the room ....

    PrairieMod Photo Journal: A Fall Weekend at Taliesin in Spring Green, WI 2007

  • A new inglenook replaced one that had been torn out.

    Her Fearful Symmetry AUDREY NIFFENEGGER 2009

  • Inside, he found the same scuffed flagstones on the floor, the inglenook fireplace and the high-backed wooden pews, blackened by the wood smoke of so many winter nights.

    Day of the Dandelion Peter Pringle 2007

  • She walked towards the fire blazing in the inglenook.

    The Carides Pregnancy Lawrence, Kim 2005

  • Anguish has driven her from the inglenook of home to the white-shrouded and icy hills.

    Shirley, by Charlotte Bronte 2004

  • He still held Owyn's hand in a firm clasp; he used that now to draw Owyn forward and to one of the two inglenook seats at the hearth.

    Brightly Burning Lackey, Mercedes 2000

Comments

Log in or sign up to get involved in the conversation. It's quick and easy.

  • The word is of Scottish origin, ingle meaning a housefire burning on a hearth. This type of built-in furniture fell out of favour upon the introduction of more sophisticated flues, which allowed for a smaller fire-burning area, but it was reintroduced with the revival of cottage-style architecture in the late 19th century, though in this context it was a deliberate reference to an idealized past.

    inglenook. (2009). In Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved January 27, 2009, from Encyclopædia Britannica Online.

    January 28, 2009

  • Lovely! I always thought it was a brand of wine! ;)

    January 28, 2009