Genuflect

//ˈd͡ʒɛn.jʊ.flɛkt// verb

Definitions

Verb
  1. 1
    To bend the knee, as in servitude. archaic, intransitive
  2. 2
    bend the knees and bow in a servile manner wordnet
  3. 3
    To briefly enter a position that touches one knee to the ground in a manner that is typically associated with formal homage or religious worship. intransitive

    "At high Mass the deacon and subdeacon stand on either side, genuflect too, and answer."

  4. 4
    bend the knees and bow in church or before a religious superior or image wordnet
  5. 5
    To behave in a servile manner; to grovel. figuratively, intransitive

    "Certainly, the megalomaniacs who aim to populate municipal fixtures with registered-trademark logos will expect cities to genuflect at every turn."

Etymology

PIE word *ǵónu From around 1620–1630 from Medieval Latin genūflectō (“I bend the knee”) equivalent to the Latin genū (“knee”) + flectō (“to bend”).

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