Kneel

Pronunciation

• enPR: nÄ“l, IPA: /niːl/
• Rhymes: -iːl
• Homophones: Neal, Neil, Niel

Origin

From Middle English knelen, knewlen, from Old English cnēowlian ("to kneel"), equivalent to knee + -le. Cognate with Dutch knielen ("to kneel"), Low German knelen ("to kneel"), German dialectal knielen, kneulen, knülen ("to kneel"), Danish knæle ("to kneel").

Full definition of kneel

Verb

1. (intransitive) To stoop down and rest on the knee or knees.
• 1907, w, The Younger Set Chapter 3, When the flames at last began to flicker and subside, his lids fluttered, then drooped ; but he had lost all reckoning of time when he opened them again to find Miss Erroll in furs kneeling on the hearth and heaping kindling on the coals, and her pretty little Alsatian maid beside her, laying a log across the andirons.

Derived terms

• kneeler

Related terms

• genuflect
• kneel down