The story
- Middle English · inherited fromgnof“a miser, churl, lout”
- English todaygnoff
From Middle English gnof (“a miser, churl, lout”), of unknown origin. Cognate with Scots gnaff (“any small or stunted object”). Compare Saterland Frisian knufe (“lump”), Saterland Frisian gnuffig (“thick, rough, coarse, ill-mannered”).
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.