Kneel
/niːl/noun
To rest on one or both knees or lower the body so the knees touch the ground.
Did you know?The verb is historically just the act of making the knee do its work: English built it from the noun *knee*, and in many cultures kneeling became a physical sign of reverence before gods and kings.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*ǵónu
“knee”
Proto-Germanic
PGmc
*knewą
“knee”
Old English
English
cnēow
“knee”
Old English
English
cnēowlīċian
“to kneel, bend the knee”
Middle English
English
knelen
“to kneel”
Modern English
English
kneel
“to rest on the knees or lower oneself onto the knees”