Etymologically
Log in

knee

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 16 October 2026 at 04:12. This address is a permanent link to this version.
Changes in this edit History

Pronunciation

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
  • 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