nug

nug · noun¹

1. Proto-Germanic · derived from*knuk-“to ball up, mass together”
2. English todaynug

From dialectal nug, nog, knog (“a knot, lump, block, a misshapen mass of anything, peg, linchpin”), also found in Scots nug, nugg, nogg (“small block of wood, peg, pin”), of uncertain origin. Probably from earlier *knug, *knugg, *knogg, related to dialectal Norwegian knugg (“knot, knob”), ultimately from Proto-Germanic *knuk- (“to ball up, mass together”), making it further related to English knock and knuckle.

nug · noun²

Clipping of nugget, from the sense above.