genuflect

WOTD - 22 January 2008    

English

Etymology

From around 1620–1630 from Medieval Latin genūflectō (“I bend the knee”) equivalent to the Latin genū (“knee”) + flectō (“to bend”).

Pronunciation

• (RP, US) IPA: /ˈdʒɛn.jʊ.flɛkt/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

Verb

genuflect (third-person singular simple present genuflects, present participle genuflecting, simple past and past participle genuflected)

1. (intransitive) To bend the knee, as in servitude or worship
2. (intransitive) To behave in a servile manner; to grovel.

Quotations

• 1913 — Adrian Fortescue, Catholic Encyclopedia, "Gospel in the Liturgy"

  At high Mass the deacon and subdeacon stand on either side, genuflect too, and answer.

• 1965 — Tom Lehrer, The Vatican Rag

  First you get down on your knees, fiddle with your rosaries,
  Bow your head with great respect and genuflect, genuflect, genuflect.

Related terms

• genuflection
• genuflector

Translations

to bend the knee, as in servitude or worship

Albanian: bie në gjunjë Danish: bøje knæ Finnish: polvistua (fi) French: faire une génuflexion Galician: dobregar o xeonllo; fincar o xeonllo German: niederknien (de)

Icelandic: gera knéfall (is), koma fyrir kné (is), falla á kné (is), knékrjúpa (is) Italian: genuflettersi (it) Persian: زانو خم كردن Polish: klękać (pl) Spanish: doblar la rodilla Swedish: knäfalla (sv), knäböja (sv)

to behave in a servile manner

Finnish: kyyristellä (fi)

French: faire une génuflexion