- kneel
- intransitive verb (knelt or kneeled; kneeling) Etymology: Middle English knelen, from Old English cnēowlian; akin to Old English cnēow knee Date: before 12th century to bend the knee ; fall or rest on the knees
New Collegiate Dictionary. 2001.
kneel
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Kneel — (n[=e]l), v. i. [imp. & p. p. {Knelt} (n[e^]lt) or {Kneeled} (n[=e]ld); p. pr. & vb. n. {Kneeling}.] [OE. knelen, cneolien; akin to D. knielen, Dan. kn[ae]le. See {Knee}.] To bend the knee; to fall or rest on the knees; sometimes with down. [1913 … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
kneel — [ni:l] v also kneel down past tense and past participle knelt [nelt] also kneeled AmE [I] [: Old English; Origin: cneowlian] to be in or move into a position where your body is resting on your knees ▪ Tom knelt down and patted the dog. kneel on ▪ … Dictionary of contemporary English
kneel — [ nil ] (past tense and past participle knelt [ nelt ] or kneeled) verb intransitive * kneel or kneel down to put one or both knees on the ground: She knelt in front of the fire to warm herself. I knelt down on the floor beside her. a. to have… … Usage of the words and phrases in modern English
kneel — kneel·er; kneel·ing·ly; kneel; … English syllables
kneel´er — kneel «neel», verb, knelt or kneeled, kneel|ing, noun. –v.i. 1. to go down on one s knee or knees: »She knelt down to pull a weed from the flower bed. I kneeled down, and gave God thanks aloud for my recovery from my sickness (Daniel Defoe) … Useful english dictionary
kneel to — index obey Burton s Legal Thesaurus. William C. Burton. 2006 … Law dictionary
kneel — (v.) O.E. cneowlian, from cneow (see KNEE (Cf. knee)); Cf. M.L.G. knelen, M.Du. cnielen, Du. knielen Goth. knussjan. Past tense knelt is a modern formation (19c.) on analogy of feel/felt, etc. Related: Kneeling … Etymology dictionary
kneel — The past and past participle form knelt is now more common than kneeled in all varieties of English: • Some of the recruits knelt to pray before retiring, presumably for strength Anthony Burgess, 1987 … Modern English usage
kneel — [v] get down on one’s knees bow, bow down, curtsey, do obeisance, genuflect, kowtow, prostrate oneself, stoop; concept 154 … New thesaurus
kneel — ► VERB (past and past part. knelt or chiefly N. Amer. also kneeled) ▪ fall or rest on a knee or the knees. ORIGIN Old English … English terms dictionary
kneel — [nēl] vi. knelt or kneeled, kneeling [ME knelen < OE cneowlian < cneow, KNEE] to bend or rest on a knee or the knees … English World dictionary
