knee

Pronunciation

• IPA: /niː/^[1]

Etymology

It is Middle English kne, knee, inherited from Old English cnēo, cnēow,^[2][3][4] from Proto-Germanic *knewą,^[3][2][4] which also gave Old Saxon kneo, Dutch and German knie, Old Norse kné and Gothic kniu,^[2][3] from the PIE root Proto-Indo-European *genu- (“knee; angle”),^[3][4] whose descendants include Latin genū, Greek góny, Sanskrit jānu and Hittite genu.^[2][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

The joint between the thigh and the lower leg: about 825 in the OED, about 725 in Barnhart.^[6][2]

Semantic evolution

Phrases of kneeling in worship or supplication are from the late 9th century.^[6] The verb, to bend the knee or kneel, is from Old English cnēowian, about 1000;^[6][2][3] to strike with the knee is first recorded in 1892.^[3][2][6] The kneecap was a protective covering in 1660 and the bone in 1869, replacing knee pan (1392).^[2] Across one's knee, of a child being spanked, is from 1759 in the OED and 1866 in Etymonline.^[6][3] Knee breeches are from 1827,^[3] and the knee-slapper, a very funny joke, from 1955.^[3]

Timeline

• c. 825 – the knee.^[6]
• c. 1000 – to kneel.^[6][2]
• 1392 – knee pan, the kneecap.^[2]
• 1660 – kneecap, a covering.^[2]
• 1827 – knee breeches.^[3]
• 1892 – to strike with the knee.^[3][6]
• 1955 – knee-slapper.^[3]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. The joint between the thigh and the lower leg, or the area around it.
2. The upper surface of the thigh of a seated person: on her knee.
3. The part of a garment that covers the knee.
4. Something shaped like a bent knee, such as a bent piece of pipe.

Verb

1. To hit someone with the knee.

Word family

• kneed
• kneecap
• knee-jerk
• kneel
• kneepan
• knees-up
• kneesies
• knee-deep

Related words

• genuflect
• knuckle

References

1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ a b c Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
5. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
6. ^ a b c d e f g h Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press