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Added 1 October 2026

kneel

/niːl/ noun

In Latin: genuflecto Wiktionary

noun Definition from WordNet 3.1, Princeton University. Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about kneel at Wordnik → Where our words come from →

Supporting yourself on your knees.

verb

Rest one's weight on one's knees.
In church you have to kneel during parts of the service

Origin

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”.

From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)

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