Dictionary

kneel en · VERB

Pronunciation

• /kniːl/ (Early, Modern)
• (US) audio
• nēl
• /niːl/

Etymology

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”.

Meanings

1. (intransitive) 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 across the andirons. 1907 August, Robert W[illiam] Chambers, chapter III, in The Younger Set, New York, N.Y.: D. Appleton & Company, →OCLC:
2. (intransitive, of a bus or other vehicle) To sink down so that the entrance is level with the pavement, making it easier for passengers to enter.
3. (transitive) To cause to kneel.
   • Kneel him down and stick his head in. No, don't let him up, just hold him there. 2007, Norman Horrod, On a Different Note, page 47:
   • Raising the girl with unexpected strength, she bore her towards the chapel, the firesparks flickered in her eyes, as she knelt her burden against the altar step. 1898, K.L. Montgomery, “The Red Rosary”, in The Ludgate Illustrated Magazine, volume 6, page 47:
   • He took the wife in his car to the piney woods outside town, and knelt her down. 2011, Joseph T. Wells, Fraud Fighter: My Fables and Foibles, page 201:
   • She knelt the doll to fit it into the box.
4. (archaic, reflexive) To rest on (one's) knees.
   • He knelt him down to pray.
   • Just when the damsel kneeled herself to pray. 1833, Robert Pollok, “The Course of Time”, in The Poetical Works of Hemans, Heber, and Pollok, page 33:

Forms

Deriveds

kneeling chair · kneelo · kneeling bus · kneeler · kneel before

Hyponyms

kneel down · genuflect

Translations (109)

nv ntsideegeeh (to stoop down and rest on the knee) · chr ᏓᎵᏂᏆᏅᎥᏍᎦ (to stoop down and rest on the knee) · gl axeonllar (to stoop down and rest on the knee) · se čippostit (to stoop down and rest on the knee) · sv falla på knä (to stoop down and rest on the knee) · hy ծնկի գալ (to stoop down and rest on the knee) · he כָּרַע (to stoop down and rest on the knee) · la genuflecto (to stoop down and rest on the knee) · hu térdel (to stoop down and rest on the knee) · mn өвдөг сөгдөн (to stoop down and rest on the knee) · ar رَكَعَ (to stoop down and rest on the knee) · lv nomesties ceļos (to stoop down and rest on the knee) · cs pokleknout (to stoop down and rest on the knee) · akl euhod (to stoop down and rest on the knee) · ru преклоня́ться (to stoop down and rest on the knee) · sv knäfalla (to stoop down and rest on the knee) · ga bí ar do ghlúine (to stoop down and rest on the knee) · arz ركع (to stoop down and rest on the knee) · enm knelen (to stoop down and rest on the knee) · my ဒူးထောက် (to stoop down and rest on the knee) · nl knielen (to stoop down and rest on the knee) · cy penglinio (to stoop down and rest on the knee) · kl seeqqumiarpoq (to stoop down and rest on the knee) · tsg luhud (to stoop down and rest on the knee) · es arrodillarse (to stoop down and rest on the knee) · cy penlinio (to stoop down and rest on the knee) · cic achokmilhka (to stoop down and rest on the knee) · sh klečati (to stoop down and rest on the knee) · rup ndzinucljedzu (to stoop down and rest on the knee) · sl klečati (to stoop down and rest on the knee) · kaw dĕku (to stoop down and rest on the knee) · zza çok biyen (to stoop down and rest on the knee) · fr s'agenouiller (to stoop down and rest on the knee) · sh клечати (to stoop down and rest on the knee) · kea juelha (to stoop down and rest on the knee) · dsb kólenkowaś (to stoop down and rest on the knee) · fa زانو زدن (to stoop down and rest on the knee) · fi polvistua (to stoop down and rest on the knee) · hrx knïe (to stoop down and rest on the knee) · grc προσκυνέω (to stoop down and rest on the knee) · ceb luhod (to stoop down and rest on the knee) · eu belaunikatu (to stoop down and rest on the knee) · es ahinojar (to stoop down and rest on the knee) · ka მუხლზე (to stoop down and rest on the knee) · ro îngenunchea (to stoop down and rest on the knee) · bg коленича (to stoop down and rest on the knee) · wyi barreng-ge-gorree (to stoop down and rest on the knee) · be укленчваць (to stoop down and rest on the knee) · ga téigh ar do ghlúine (to stoop down and rest on the knee) · ko 꿇다 (to stoop down and rest on the knee) · nrf s'agenouoilli (to stoop down and rest on the knee) · it inginocchiarsi (to stoop down and rest on the knee) · is krjúpa (to stoop down and rest on the knee) · tsg lintuhud (to stoop down and rest on the knee) · cs klečet (to stoop down and rest on the knee) · eo genui (to stoop down and rest on the knee) · pam siklaud (to stoop down and rest on the knee) · da knæle (to stoop down and rest on the knee) · hy չոքել (to stoop down and rest on the knee) · sl poklekniti (to stoop down and rest on the knee) · km លុត (to stoop down and rest on the knee) · de knien (to stoop down and rest on the knee) · no knele (to stoop down and rest on the knee) · hy ծունր դնել (to stoop down and rest on the knee) · el γονατίζω (to stoop down and rest on the knee) · ga sléacht (to stoop down and rest on the knee) · pam siklod (to stoop down and rest on the knee) · th คุกเข่า (to stoop down and rest on the knee) · mi tūturi (to stoop down and rest on the knee) · yue 跪 (to stoop down and rest on the knee) · pt ajoelhar-se (to stoop down and rest on the knee) · ba тубыҡланыу (to stoop down and rest on the knee) · uk вклякати (to stoop down and rest on the knee) · sv knäböja (to stoop down and rest on the knee) · dsb klěkaś (to stoop down and rest on the knee) · uk ставати на коліна (to stoop down and rest on the knee) · et põlvitama (to stoop down and rest on the knee) · ca agenollar-se (to stoop down and rest on the knee) · cs kleknout si (to stoop down and rest on the knee) · tl luhod (to stoop down and rest on the knee) · id berlutut (to stoop down and rest on the knee) · cmn 下跪 (to stoop down and rest on the knee) · uk клякати (to stoop down and rest on the knee) · vi quỳ (to stoop down and rest on the knee) · ckb چەکبوون (to stoop down and rest on the knee) · ru стоя́ть на коле́нях (to stoop down and rest on the knee) · hy ծնրադրել (to stoop down and rest on the knee) · hy ծնկել (to stoop down and rest on the knee) · hil luhod (to stoop down and rest on the knee) · ka მუხლის მოყრა (to stoop down and rest on the knee) · ar جَثَا (to stoop down and rest on the knee) · msk lood (to stoop down and rest on the knee) · sh клекнути (to stoop down and rest on the knee) · tr diz çökmek (to stoop down and rest on the knee) · ms berlutut (to stoop down and rest on the knee) · fo leggja seg á knæ (to stoop down and rest on the knee) · ja 跪く (to stoop down and rest on the knee) · rup ndzinuclju (to stoop down and rest on the knee) · ka დაჩოქება (to stoop down and rest on the knee) · qu ullpukuy (to stoop down and rest on the knee) · cic achokmíyyi'lhka (to stoop down and rest on the knee) · jv dhengkul (to stoop down and rest on the knee) · ml മുട്ടുകുത്തുക (to stoop down and rest on the knee) · sv nigning (to sink down, making it easier for passengers to enter) · sw kupiga magoti (to stoop down and rest on the knee) · mba agluhod (to stoop down and rest on the knee) · ba теҙләнеү (to stoop down and rest on the knee) · sh kleknuti (to stoop down and rest on the knee) · pl klęczeć (to stoop down and rest on the knee)