kneel
English · Thesaurus
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kneel
- /niːl/
- /kniːl/ Early Modern
Sounds like Neal, Neil, Niel · Rhymes with -iːl
Where it comes from
From Middle English knelen, from Old English cnēowlian (“to kneel”), equivalent to knee + -le. Cognate with Dutch knielen, Low German knelen, dialectal German knielen, Alemannic German chnüle, Danish knæle, all meaning “to kneel”.
verb kneels · kneeling · knelt · kneeled
- To rest on one's bent knees, sometimes only one; to move to such a position. 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
- To sink down so that the entrance is level with the pavement, making it easier for passengers to enter.
- To cause to kneel. She knelt the doll to fit it into the box.
- To rest on (one's) knees. He knelt him down to pray.
Thesaurus
Closest in meaning: genuflect, crouch, down, stoop, squat, prostrate, bow, duck, curtsey, sink, cower, bend, hunker, grovel, kowtow, dip
Translations
Every language
verb to stoop down and rest on the knee
| Español | arrodillarse, ahinojar |
|---|---|
| 한국어 | 꿇다 kkulta |
| 日本語 | 跪く hizamazuku |
| 中文 | 下跪 xiàguì |
| Kiswahili | kupiga magoti |
| Português | ajoelhar-se |
| Français | s'agenouiller |
| Deutsch | knien |
| Italiano | inginocchiarsi |
| Ελληνικά | γονατίζω gonatízo |
| Română | îngenunchea |
| Русский | преклоня́ться preklonjátʹsja, стоя́ть на коле́нях stojátʹ na kolénjax |
| Tiếng Việt | quỳ |
| العربية | رَكَعَ rakaʕa, جَثَا jaṯā |
| עברית | כָּרַע |
Talk about this word "kneel." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/kneel. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. kneel. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/kneel "kneel." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/kneel.Cite this
@misc{kneel_2026,
title = {kneel},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/kneel},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
