knee

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Contents

English [edit]

Etymology [edit]

From Middle English kne, from Old English cnēo, from Proto-Germanic *knewą (compare German Knie, Dutch knie, Swedish knä), from Proto-Indo-European *ǵnéwo-, a thematic derivative of Proto-Indo-European *ǵónu. Compare Hittite 𒄀𒉡 (genu), Latin genū, Tocharian A kanweṃ (dual), Tocharian B kenī, Ancient Greek γόνυ (góny, “knee”), γωνία (gōnía, “corner, angle”), Old Armenian ծունր (cunr), Avestan 𐬲𐬥𐬎𐬨 (žnum), Sanskrit जानु (jānu).

Pronunciation [edit]

Noun [edit]

knee (plural knees or kneen (dialectal or obsolete))

  1. In humans, the joint or the region of the joint in the middle part of the leg between the thigh and the shank.
    Jessica was wearing shorts, so she skinned her exposed knees when she fell.
  2. In the horse and allied animals, the carpal joint, corresponding to the wrist in humans.
  3. The part of a garment that covers the knee.
  4. (shipbuilding) A piece of timber or metal formed with an angle somewhat in the shape of the human knee when bent.
    • 1980, Richard W. Unger, The Ship in the Medieval Economy 600-1600, page 41
      Deck beams were supported by hanging knees, triangular pieces of wood typically found underneath the timbers they are designed to support, but in this case found above them.
  5. (archaic) An act of kneeling, especially to show respect or courtesy.
    To make a knee.
  6. Any knee-shaped item or sharp angle in a line, "the knee of a graph", an inflection point.
  7. A blow made with the knee; a kneeing.

Derived terms [edit]

Translations [edit]

joint in the middle of the leg and area around it
carpal joint of a horse or related animal
part of a garment
shipbuilding: piece of timber or metal formed with an angle
act of kneeling
any knee-shaped item or sharp angle in a line
blow made with the knee — see kneeing
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Translations to be checked

Verb [edit]

knee (third-person singular simple present knees, present participle kneeing, simple past and past participle kneed)

  1. (transitive, archaic) To kneel to.
    • 1605: I could as well be brought / To knee his throne and, squire-like, pension beg / To keep base life afoot. — William Shakespeare, King Lear II.ii
  2. (transitive) To poke or strike with the knee.

Anagrams [edit]

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