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Knee

//ni// noun, verb

Definitions

Noun

1
In humans, the joint or the region of the joint in the middle part of the leg between the thigh and the shank.
"Penny was wearing a miniskirt, so she skinned her exposed knees when she fell."
2
joint between the femur and tibia in a quadruped; corresponds to the human knee wordnet
3
In the horse and allied animals, the carpal joint, corresponding to the wrist in humans.
4
the part of a trouser leg that provides the cloth covering for the knee wordnet
5
In birds:; The tarsal joint, uniting the tarsometatarsus and the tibiotarsus (homologous to the human ankle).

Show 8 more definitions

6
hinge joint in the human leg connecting the tibia and fibula with the femur and protected in front by the patella wordnet
7
In birds:; The joint uniting the tibiotarsus and the femur, typically hidden beneath plumage.
8
The part of a garment that covers the knee.
9
A piece of timber or metal formed with an angle somewhat in the shape of the human knee when bent.
"Deck beams were supported by hanging knees, triangular pieces of wood typically found underneath the timbers they are designed to support, but in this case found above them."
10
An act of kneeling, especially to show respect or courtesy. archaic
"Give them title, knee, and approbation."
11
Any knee-shaped item or sharp angle in a line; an inflection point.
"the knee of a graph"
12
A blow made with the knee; a kneeing.
"Tante was groggy but not quite out so Winnie gave him a knee to the jaw that Rose had shown her, and that was enough. He slumped like a rag-doll to the floor."
13
The presence of a parent etc., where a young child acquires early knowledge. figuratively
"The duty is, or should be, a thing taught at one's father's knee, and the structure of the family gently enforces it."

Verb

1
To kneel to. archaic, transitive
"I could as well be brought / To knee his throne and, squire-like, pension beg / To keep base life afoot"
2
To poke or strike with the knee. transitive
"When I blocked her from leaving, she kneed me in the groin."
3
To move on the knees; to use the knees to move. reflexive
"Hassan kneed himself up, over, in, soundlessly, feet on floor, knife out, eyes like blunter knife trying to cut darkness."

Etymology

Etymology 1

From Middle English kne, from Old English cnēow, from Proto-West Germanic *kneu, from Proto-Germanic *knewą, from Proto-Indo-European *ǵnéw-o-m, a thematic derivative of *ǵónu. See also West Frisian knibbel, Low German Knee, Knie, Dutch knie, German Knie, Danish knæ, Norwegian kne, Swedish knä; also Hittite 𒄀𒉡 (genu), Latin genū, Tocharian A kanweṃ (dual), Tocharian B kenī, Ancient Greek γόνυ (gónu, “knee”), γωνία (gōnía, “corner, angle”), Welsh glin (“knee”), Old Armenian ծունր (cunr), Avestan 𐬲𐬥𐬎𐬨 (žnum), Sanskrit जानु (jā́nu). The obsolete plural kneen is from Middle English kneen, knen, kneon, kneuwene.

Etymology 2

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