knuckle
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knuckle
- /ˈnʌkəl/
Rhymes with -ʌkəl
Where it comes from
From Middle English knokel (“finger joint”), from Old English cnucel (“the juncture of two bones; knuckle; joint”), from Proto-West Germanic *knukil, from Proto-Germanic *knukilaz (“knuckle, knot, bump”), as *knukô (“bone, joint”) + *-ilaz (diminutive suffix). Cognate with Dutch knokkel (“knuckle”), Low German Knökel (“knuckle”), German Knöchel (“ankle, knuckle”), Old Norse knykill. More at knock.
noun knuckles
- Any of the joints between the bones of the fingers.
- A mechanical joint.
- The curved part of the cushion at the entrance to the pockets on a cue sports table.
- The kneejoint of a quadruped, especially of a calf; formerly, the kneejoint of a human being. With wearie knockles on thy brim she kneeled sadly downe
- A cut of meat of various kinds. Beef knuckle is from the knee joint. Pork knuckle, or ham hock, is from the joint between the tibia/fibula and the metatarsals of the foot of a pig, where the foot was attached to the leg.
- The joint of a plant. In the West Indies there are found, even in sandy deserts and very dry places, large canes, which at every joint or knuckle yield a good supply of fresh water
- A convex portion of a vessel's figure where a sudden change of shape occurs, as in a canal boat, where a nearly vertical side joins a nearly flat bottom.
- A contrivance, usually of brass or iron, and furnished with points, worn to protect the hand, to add force to a blow, and to disfigure the person struck; a knuckle duster. brass knuckles
- The rounded point where a flat changes to a slope on a piste.
verb knuckles · knuckling · knuckled
- To apply pressure, or rub or massage with one's knuckles (noun sense 1). He knuckled the sleep from his eyes.
- To strike or punch. I could feel my big toe snap, but as he's gone down on his good knee and half swung round I knuckled him in the kidney as hard as I could hit. He's gone all the way down, so I dropped my 19 stone into the middle of his back.
- To bend the fingers.
- To touch one's forehead as a mark of respect.
-
To yield.
Similar: knuckle under
- To land on the knuckle (noun sense 9) of a curve of a slope, after a jump off a ramp that precedes the slope.
Thesaurus
Closest in meaning: knuckle joint, metacarpophalangeal joint, duster, buckle, articulation, dusters, knucklebone, knuck, knuckle-tat, knuckler, knottle, knobble, knob, knub, knuckle duster, knot
Translations
Every language
noun joint of the finger
| Español | nudillo, ñudillo, artejo |
|---|---|
| 한국어 | 손가락 관절 son'garak gwanjeol, 손가락 마디 son'garak madi |
| 日本語 | 指関節 yubikansetsu |
| 中文 | 指關節 /指关节 zhǐguānjié |
| Português | nó, junta dos dedos |
| Français | articulation du doigt, articulation, jointure du doigt |
| Deutsch | Fingerknöchel |
| Italiano | nocca, giuntura |
| Русский | суста́в па́льца sustáv pálʹca |
| Tiếng Việt | khớp |
| العربية | بُرْجُمَة burjuma, مَفْصِل mafṣil, أَشْجَع ʔašjaʕ |
| עברית | מפרק האצבע mifrák ha'étsba |
Talk about this word "knuckle." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/knuckle. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. knuckle. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/knuckle "knuckle." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/knuckle.Cite this
@misc{knuckle_2026,
title = {knuckle},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/knuckle},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
