There is a word in Norwegian "kose" - which can be used to describe a state; "koselig" - then it is more or less like cozy in English. But it is also a verb, "å kose seg" - to have a nice, comfortable time, enjoying life and the current place. I guess hobbits would be masters of "kose seg".
According to an article about regional food, the expression might have roots in the French "causer" and old-Germanic "kôsôn" - and hence bringing it in line with the modern German word "Gemütlichkeit". And with some Googling I got some other input on the term. Seems several of our neighbours have similar concepts, and similar problems translating/explaining them in English... what a shame for the brits!
Gemütlichkeit : "There is no direct translation for the word . However, G. is the warm, comfortable feeling one receives from pleasant surroundings and atmosphere."
"Warm friendliness; amicability. German, from gemütlich, congenial"
"Gemütlichkeit is a German abstract noun whose closest English equivalent is cosiness. ... connotes, much more than cosiness, the notion of belonging, social acceptance, cheerfulness, the absence of anything hectic and the spending of quality time. Activities pursued are never work-related but are expected by the people getting together to be productive in a non-economical sense. The Dutch have a very similar word, gezelligheid"
...which gives a nice lead to one of the better written pieces on the subject - from Canada: "most frequent translation of gezellig is "cozy," though the word is still inadequate." (last three paragraphs in particular)
