knee
Definition from Wiktionary, the free dictionary
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[edit] English
[edit] Etymology
Old English cnēo, from Proto-Germanic *knewan (compare Low German Knee, 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).
[edit] Pronunciation
[edit] Noun
knee (plural knees or kneen (dialectal or obsolete))
- (anatomy) 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.
- (anatomy) In the horse and allied animals, the carpal joint, corresponding to the wrist in humans.
- The part of a garment that covers the knee.
- (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.
- 1980, Richard W. Unger, The Ship in the Medieval Economy 600-1600, page 41
- (archaic)An act of kneeling, especially to show respect or courtesy.
- Give them title, knee, and approbation. Shak.
- To make a knee.
- Any knee-shaped item or sharp angle in a line, "the knee of a graph", an inflection point
- A blow made with the knee; a kneeing
[edit] Derived terms
[edit] Translations
joint in the middle of the leg and area around it
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act of kneeling
blow made with the knee — see kneeing
- The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Help:How to check translations.
Translations to be checked
[edit] Verb
knee (third-person singular simple present knees, present participle kneeing, simple past and past participle kneed)
- (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
- (transitive) poke or strike with the knee
