knee
English[edit]
Etymology[edit]
From Middle English kne, from Old English cnēow, from Proto-West Germanic *kneu, from Proto-Germanic *knewą (compare Low German Knee, Dutch knie, German Knie, Danish knæ, Norwegian kne, Swedish knä), from Proto-Indo-European *ǵnéw-o-m, a thematic derivative of *ǵónu. Cognate with Hittite 𒄀𒉡 (genu), Latin genū, Tocharian A kanweṃ (dual), Tocharian B kenī, Ancient Greek γόνυ (gónu, “knee”), γωνία (gōnía, “corner, angle”), Old Armenian ծունր (cunr), Avestan 𐬲𐬥𐬎𐬨 (žnum), Sanskrit जानु (jā́nu).
The obsolete plural kneen is from Middle English kneen, knen, kneon, kneuwene.
Pronunciation[edit]
- (UK) enPR: nē, IPA(key): /niː/
- (US) IPA(key): /ni/
- (obsolete) IPA(key): /kniː/
Audio (US) (file) Audio (file) - Rhymes: -iː
- Homophone: nee
Noun[edit]
knee (plural knees or (obsolete or dialectal) kneen)
- In humans, the joint or the region of the joint in the middle part of the leg between the thigh and the shank.
- Penny was wearing a miniskirt, so she skinned her exposed knees when she fell.
- 1590, Edmund Spenser, The Faerie Qveene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for VVilliam Ponsonbie, OCLC 960102938, book II, canto V, page 249:
- He made him ſtoup perforce vnto his knee, / And doe vnwilling worſhip to the Saint, / That on his ſhield depainted he did ſee […]
- 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
- An act of kneeling on one knee, typically to acknowledge an injury, sacrifice or otherwise to show respect.
- After Kyle went down hard on the ice, both teams took a knee as he was carried off on a stretcher.
- (archaic) An act of kneeling, especially to show respect or courtesy.
- c. 1605–1608, William Shakespeare, “The Life of Tymon of Athens”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, OCLC 606515358, [Act III, scene iii], line 36:
- Give them title, knee, and approbation.
- To make a knee.
- Any knee-shaped item or sharp angle in a line; an inflection point.
- the knee of a graph
- A blow made with the knee; a kneeing.
Derived terms[edit]
Translations[edit]
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- 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 Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
Verb[edit]
knee (third-person singular simple present knees, present participle kneeing, simple past and past participle kneed)
- (transitive, archaic) To kneel to.
- c. 1603–1606, William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of King Lear”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, OCLC 606515358, [Act II, scene ii]:
- I could as well be brought / To knee his throne and, squire-like, pension beg / To keep base life afoot
- (transitive) To poke or strike with the knee.
- (reflexive) To move on the knees; to use the knees to move.
- 1959, Anthony Burgess, Beds in the East (The Malayan Trilogy), published 1972, page 489:
- Hassan kneed himself up, over, in, soundlessly, feet on floor, knife out, eyes like blunter knife trying to cut darkness.
Translations[edit]
Anagrams[edit]
Middle English[edit]
Noun[edit]
knee
- Alternative form of kne
Norwegian Nynorsk[edit]
Etymology[edit]
From the noun kne n (“knee”).
Pronunciation[edit]
- (verb): IPA(key): /²kneːə/ (example of pronunciation)
- (noun): IPA(key): /ˈkneːə/ (example of pronunciation)
Verb[edit]
knee (present tense knear, past tense knea, past participle knea, passive infinitive kneast, present participle kneande, imperative kne)
- (intransitive) to kneel, to fall on one's knees
- Synonym: knele
- (intransitive) to walk on one's knees
- (transitive) to poke or strike with the knee
Alternative forms[edit]
- knea (as a-infinitive)
Noun[edit]
knee n
References[edit]
- “knee” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.
- English terms inherited from Middle English
- English terms derived from Middle English
- English terms inherited from Old English
- English terms derived from Old English
- English terms inherited from Proto-West Germanic
- English terms derived from Proto-West Germanic
- English terms inherited from Proto-Germanic
- English terms derived from Proto-Germanic
- English terms inherited from Proto-Indo-European
- English terms derived from Proto-Indo-European
- English 1-syllable words
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- Rhymes:English/iː
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- en:Anatomy
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