# knee
## English
### Etymology

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 Low German Knee, 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.

### Pronunciation

* (UK) enPR: nē, IPA: /niː/
* (US) IPA: /ni/
* (Early Modern) IPA: /kniː/
* Audio (US):(file)
* Audio:(file)
* Rhymes: -iː
* Homophone: nee

### Noun

knee (plural knees or (obsolete or dialectal) kneen)
* (anatomy) 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.
** 1590, Edmund Spenser, “Book II, Canto V”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, →OCLC, page 249:He made him ſtoup perforce vnto his knee, / And doe vnwilling worſhip to the Saint, / That on his ſhield depainted he did ſee […]
** 1988 March 21, Vaughn Armstrong, Heart of Glory (Star Trek: The Next Generation) (Science Fiction), Paramount Domestic Television, →OCLC:KORRIS: I have tasted your heart. You have been with them, but you are still "of" us. Do not deny the challenge of your destiny. Get off your knees and soar. Open your eyes and let the dream take flight.
* In the horse and allied animals, the carpal joint, corresponding to the wrist in humans.
* The part of a garment that covers the knee.
* (shipbuilding) A piece of timber or metal formed with an angle somewhat in the shape of the human knee when bent.
** 1980, Richard W. Unger, The Ship in the Medieval Economy 600-1600, page 41: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.
* (archaic) An act of kneeling, especially to show respect or courtesy.
** c. 1605–1608, William Shakespeare, “The Life of Tymon of Athens”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act III, scene iii], line 36:Give them title, knee, and approbation.
** 2009, C. E. Murphy, The Pretender's Crown, page 127:[…] and he made a knee to the Caesar of Patna, giving that man all honour due to him.
* Any knee-shaped item or sharp angle in a line; an inflection point.
    the knee of a graph
* A blow made with the knee; a kneeing.
** 2016, Clive Mullis, Scooters Yard: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.
* (figurative) The presence of a parent etc., where a young child acquires early knowledge.
    Coordinate term: lap
** 1978, Time, volume 111, numbers 18-26, page 49:The duty is, or should be, a thing taught at one's father's knee, and the structure of the family gently enforces it.
** 2015, Brian Douglas, The Eucharistic Theology of Edward Bouverie Pusey, page 113:This has significant implications for sacramental theology which it seems Pusey even realised in the way he spoke of his early life and of learning all he knew about the Eucharist and the Catholic faith at his mother's knee, […]

#### Derived terms

* aknee
* beach thick-knee
* bend the knee
* bring to one's knees
* bush thick-knee
* cypress knee
* down on one's knees
* drop-knee
* Eurasian thick-knee
* flying knee
* give a knee
* great thick-knee
* hollow of the knee
* housemaid's knee
* jumper's knee
* knee baby
* knee-band
* kneeband
* kneebar
* kneeboard
* kneebound
* knee-breeches
* kneebuckle
* knee-buckler
* knee-cap
* knee cap
* kneecap
* knee-capping
* knee-cords
* knee-crooking
* knee-deep
* knee-deep in the Big Muddy
* knee drop
* kneeful
* kneegrow
* knee guard
* knee high
* knee-high
* knee-high by the Fourth of July
* knee-high to a grasshopper
* kneehole
* knee holly
* knee jerk
* knee-jerkery
* knee-jerking
* knee-jerkish
* knee-jerkishly
* kneejerk, knee-jerk
* knee-jerky
* kneejoint
* kneejointed
* knee kicker
* kneel
* knee-length
* kneeless
* kneelet
* knee lever
* kneelike
* knee pad
* knee-pad
* knee-paddle
* kneepan
* kneepiece
* knee pit
* kneeprint
* knee push-up
* knee roll
* kneeroom
* knee scooter
* kneesie
* kneesies
* knee slapper
* knee-slapper
* knee-slapping
* knee slide
* knee sock
* knee stop
* knees-up
* knee swell
* knee tickler
* kneetop
* knee-tremble
* knee-trembler
* knee-trembling
* knee wall
* knock knee
* knock-knee
* midknee
* offer a knee
* on bended knee
* overknee
* ox knee
* pushknee
* runner's knee
* runners knee
* runners' knee
* take a knee
* take the knee
* thick-knee
* underknee
* water on the knee

#### Translations

Abkhaz: ашьамхы (ašamxə)
Adyghe: лъэгуанджэ (lˢɛgʷandžɛ)
Afar: gulub
Afrikaans: knie (af)
Ainu: コッカサパ (kokkasapa)
Akan: kotodwe
Aklanon: tuhod
Albanian: gju (sq) m
Amharic: ጉልበት (gulbät)
Arabic: رُكْبَة f (rukba)
Egyptian Arabic: ركبة f (rukba)
Moroccan Arabic: ركبة f (rukba)
Aragonese: chenullo
Aramaic:
Hebrew: ברכא f (birkā)
Syriac: ܒܘܪܟܐ f (burkā)
Argobba: ጉልብ (gulbe)
Armenian: ծունկ (hy) (cunk)
Aromanian: dzinuclju n, dzãnuclju n, dzenuclju n
Assamese: আঁঠু (ãthu)
Asturian: rodiya (ast) f, rodiella (ast) f
Avar: наку (naku)
Azerbaijani: diz (az)
Baluchi: کونڈ (konď)
Bashkir: тубыҡ (tubıq)
Basque: belaun (eu)
Bau Bidayuh: koruob
Belarusian: кале́на n (kaljéna)
Bengali: হাঁটু (bn) (hãṭu)
Bhojpuri: घुटना (ghuṭᵊnā)
Bikol Central: tuhod (bcl)
Breton: glin (br) m
Brunei Malay: tuhut
Bulgarian: коля́но (bg) n (koljáno)
Burmese: ဒူး (my) (du:)
Buryat: үвдэг (üvdeg)
Cappadocian Greek: γόνατο (gónato)
Catalan: genoll (ca) m
Cebuano: tuhod
Central Atlas Tamazight: ⴰⴼⵓⴷ m (afud)
Central Melanau: bukou
Chakma: 𑄃𑄙𑄪 (ādhu)
Chamicuro: melo'ti
Chechen: гола (gola)
Chepang: क्य्रोङः
Cherokee: ᎧᏂᎨᏂ (kanigeni)
Chichewa: bondo
Chinese:
Cantonese: 膝頭哥 / 膝头哥 (yue) (sat$^1$ tau$^4$ go$^1$), 膝頭 / 膝头 (sat$^1$ tau$^4$)
Eastern Min: 跤腹頭 / 跤腹头 (kă-bók-tàu)
Hokkien: 跤頭趺 / 跤头趺 (zh-min-nan) (kha-thâu-hu / kha-thâu-u)
Jin: 圪膝蓋 / 圪膝盖 (geh$^5$ qieh$^4$ gai$^3$)
Mandarin: 膝 (zh) (xī), 膝蓋 / 膝盖 (zh) (xīgài)
Northern Min: 跤腹頭 / 跤腹头 (káu-bŭ-tê)
Wu: 腳饅頭 / 脚馒头 ($^7$ciaq-moe-deu)
Chuvash: чӗркуҫҫи (čĕrk̬uśśi)
Coptic: ⲕⲉⲗⲓ f (keli), ⲫⲁⲧ pl (phat)
Corsican: ghjinochju (co) m
Cree: please add this translation if you can
Crimean Tatar: tiz
Czech: koleno (cs) n
Dalmatian: denacle pl
Danish: knæ (da)
Daur: tolcig
Dongxiang: odou
Dutch: knie (nl) f
Eastern Arrernte: ampere
Egyptian: (pꜣḏ m)
Elfdalian: kni n
Emilian: źnòć m
Esperanto: genuo (eo)
Estonian: põlv (et)
Even: хэнӈэн (hənŋən)
Evenki: хэнңэн
Faroese: knæ (fo) n
Fijian: duru
Finnish: polvi (fi)
French: genou (fr) m
Old French: genoill m
Friulian: zenoli m, genoli m
Galician: xeonllo (gl) m
Gallurese: ghinocchiu
Ge'ez: ብርክ (bərk)
Georgian: მუხლი (muxli)
German: Knie (de) n
Alemannic German: Chnüü n
Gothic: 𐌺𐌽𐌹𐌿 n (kniu)
Greek: γόνατο (el) n (gónato)
Ancient: γόνυ n (gónu)
Greenlandic: seeqqoq
Gujarati: ઘૂંટણ (ghū̃ṭaṇ)
Haitian Creole: jenou
Hausa: gwiwa (ha)
Hawaiian: kuli
Hebrew: בֶּרֶךְ (he) f (bérekh)
Higaonon: tuhud
Hiligaynon: tuhod
Hindi: घुटना (hi) m (ghuṭnā)
Hittite: 𒄀𒉡 (ge-nu)
Hopi: tamö
Hungarian: térd (hu)
Icelandic: hné (is) n, kné (is) n
Ido: genuo (io)
Indonesian: lutut (id), dengkul (id)
Ingush: гола (gola)
Interlingua: please add this translation if you can
Iranun: leb
Irish: glúin (ga) f
Old Irish: glún f
Istriot: zanucio m
Istro-Romanian: jeruncľu
Italian: ginocchio (it)
Japanese: 膝 (ja) (ひざ, hiza)
Javanese: dhengkul (jv), jengku (jv)
Kabuverdianu: duedju
Kalmyk: өвдг (övdg)
Kannada: ಮೊಣಕಾಲು (kn) (moṇakālu)
Kapampangan: tud
Kashubian: kòlano n
Kazakh: тізе (kk) (tıze)
Khiamniungan Naga: shīekāuhkhèu
Khinalug: ник (nik)
Khmer: ជង្គង់ (km) (cŭəngkŭəng)
Kikuyu: iru class 5
Kimaragang: totud
Korean: 무릎 (ko) (mureup)
Kurdish:
Central Kurdish: ئەژنۆ (ckb) (ejno)
Northern Kurdish: çok (ku)
Kyrgyz: тизе (ky) (tize)
Lak: ник (nik)
Lao: ຫົວເຂົ່າ (lo) (hūa khao)
Latgalian: ceļs m
Latin: genu (la) n, geniculum n
Latvian: celis (lv) m
Laz: burguli
Limburgish: kneen (li) m
Linngithigh: nggo
Lithuanian: kelis m
Lombard: zeneugg m
Lotud: totud, otud
Low German: Knee n
Luxembourgish: Knéi m
Macedonian: колено (koleno)
Maguindanao: leb
Malagasy: lohalika (mg)
Malay: lutut (ms), tuhut (ms), dengkul
Malayalam: കാൽമുട്ട് (ml) (kālmuṭṭŭ)
Maltese: rkoppa
Manchu: ᡨᠣᠪᡤᡳᡟᠠ (tobgiya)
Mandinka: kumbaliŋo
Mangghuer: bodo
Mansaka: tood
Manx: glioon f
Maore Comorian: gunguni class 5/6
Maori: turi (mi)
Maranao: leb
Marathi: गुडघा (guḍghā)
Megleno-Romanian: zinucľu
Mirandese: zinolho
Mon: က္ၜံၚ် (kḅåṅ)
Mongghul: yiidog
Mongolian:
Cyrillic: өвдөг (mn) (övdög)
Mongolian: ᠡᠪᠦᠳᠦᠭ (ebüdüg)
Nanai: пэйнгэн (pejŋen)
Navajo: agod
Nepali: घुँडा (ne) (ghũḍā)
Newar: please add this translation if you can
Ngazidja Comorian: gunguno class 5/6, gungunu class 5/6
Nivkh: пих (pix)
Norman: g'nou m
Northern Ohlone: tú̄mis
Northern Sami: čibbi
Norwegian:
Bokmål: kne (no) n
Nynorsk: kne n
Nottoway-Meherrin: sunsheke
Occitan: genolh (oc)
Odia: ଆଣ୍ଠୁ (āṇṭhu)
Ojibwe: (my knee) ingidig
Old Church Slavonic:
Cyrillic:колѣно n (kolěno)
Old East Slavic: колѣно n (kolěno)
Old English: cnēow n
Old Javanese: dĕkung
Oromo: jilba
Ossetian: уӕраг (wærag), зоныг (zonyg)
Ottoman Turkish: دیز (diz), زانو (zanu), ركبه (rükbe)
Pali: jānu n
Pangasinan: pueg
Pannonian Rusyn: колєно n (koljeno)
Paraujano: oopiye
Pashto: زنګون (zangun)
Pennsylvania German: Gnie n
Persian:
Dari: زَانُو (zānū)
Iranian Persian: زانو (fa) (zânu)
Pitjantjatjara: muṯi
Plautdietsch: Kjnee f
Polish: kolano (pl) n
Pontic Greek: γόνοτο (gónoto)
Portuguese: joelho (pt) m
Prakrit: 𑀚𑀸𑀡𑀼 n (jāṇu)
Punjabi:
Gurmukhi: ਗੋਡਾ (pa) m (goḍā)
Shahmukhi: گوڈا m (goḍā)
Rohingya: please add this translation if you can
Romagnol: znoc
Romanian: genunchi (ro)
Romansch: schanugl m, schnuogl m
Rungus: otud
Russian: коле́но (ru) n (koléno)
Sabah Bisaya: otud
Saho: gulub
Sami:
Inari: iidâ
Northern: čibbi, buolva (Sweden)
Skolt: puõlvv
Sanskrit: जानु (sa) n (jānu)
Scottish Gaelic: glùn f, glùin f
Sebop: lep
Serbo-Croatian:
Cyrillic: ко̀љено n (Ijekavian), ко̀лено n (Ekavian)
Roman: kòljeno (sh) n (Ijekavian), kòleno (sh) n (Ekavian)
Sherpa: པིས་མུང (pis mung)
Sinhalese: දණ (si) (daṇa)
Slovak: koleno (sk) n
Slovene: koleno (sl) n
Somali: jilib (so)
Sorbian:
Lower Sorbian: kóleno n
Upper Sorbian: koleno n
Southern Altai: тизе (tize)
Spanish: rodilla (es) f, hinojo (es) m
Sranan Tongo: kindi
Sundanese: tuur, teku
Svan: ღულა̈ჲ (ɣuläy)
Swahili: goti (sw)
Swedish: knä (sv) n
Sylheti: ꠀꠑꠥ (aṭú)
Tagal Murut: atur
Tagalog: tuhod
Tajik: зону (tg) (zonu)
Tambunan Dusun: totud
Tamil: முழங்கால் (ta) (muḻaṅkāl)
Tarantino: genocchie m
Tat: zani
Tatar: тез (tt) (tez)
Tausug: tuhud
Telugu: మోకాలు (te) (mōkālu)
Tetum: ain-tuur
Thai: เข่า (th) (kào), หัวเข่า (th) (hǔua-kào)
Tibetan: པུས་མོ (pus mo), ཞབས་པུས (zhabs pus) (honorific)
Tigrinya: ብርኪ (ti) (bərki)
Timugon Murut: atur
Tiruray: tur
Tocharian A: kanweṃ du
Tocharian B: keni du
Tok Pisin: skru, skru bilong lek
Tooro: okuju class 15
Tsakonian: γου̃να (goũna)
Turkish: diz (tr)
Turkmen: dyz
Tuvan: дискек (diskek)
Udmurt: пыдес (pyďes)
Udi: кӏаъкӏаъпӏ (ḳa̱ḳa̱ṗ) (Nij), кӏеъкӏеъпӏ (ḳe̱ḳe̱ṗ) (Vartashen)
Ugaritic: 𐎁𐎗𐎋 (brk)
Ukrainian: колі́но (uk) n (kolíno)
Urdu: گُھٹْنا m (ghuṭnā)
Uyghur: تىز (tiz)
Uzbek: tizza (uz)
Venetan: zenocio
Vietnamese: đầu gối (vi), gối (vi)
Vilamovian: kni
Volapük: kien (vo)
Walloon: djno (wa) m, djino (wa) m
Waray-Waray: tuhod
Welsh: pen-glin (cy) m or f, pen-lin (cy) f, glin m
West Coast Bajau: tu'ut
West Frisian: knibbel
White Hmong: hauv caug
Winnebago: huuporo
Woiwurrung: barring
Wolof: óom
Xhosa: idolo
Yagara: buhn
Yagnobi: зонк (zonk)
Yakut: түһах (tühaq)
Yámana: tulepuS
Yiddish: קני (kni)
Yoruba: orúnkún, eékún
Yup'ik: ciisquq
Yurok: 'errkerhl
Zazaki: çoq
Zealandic: knie f
Zhuang: gyaeujhoq, hoq
Zulu: idolo (zu) class 5/6 :
    The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

### Verb

knee (third-person singular simple present knees, present participle kneeing, simple past and past participle kneed)
* (transitive, archaic) To kneel to.
** c. 1603–1606, William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of King Lear”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act II, scene ii]:I could as well be brought / To knee his throne and, squire-like, pension beg / To keep base life afoot
* (transitive) To poke or strike with the knee.
    When I blocked her from leaving, she kneed me in the groin.
* (reflexive) To move on the knees; to use the knees to move.
** 1959, Anthony Burgess, Beds in the East (The Malayan Trilogy), published 1972, page 489:Hassan kneed himself up, over, in, soundlessly, feet on floor, knife out, eyes like blunter knife trying to cut darkness.

#### Translations
### References

* ↑ Dobson, E. J. (1957) English pronunciation 1500-1700‎, second edition, volume II: Phonology, Oxford: Clarendon Press, published 1968, →OCLC, § 416, page 976: “In OE and ME [k] in the initial group kn- in, for example, knife had the same pronunciation as before other consonants (e.g. [l] in cliff), and is retained as [k] by all sixteenth- and most seventeenth-century orthoepists.”.

### Anagrams

* Enke, Keen, keen, kene, kène, neek

## Middle English
### Noun

knee
* Alternative form of kne

## Norwegian Nynorsk
### Etymology

From the noun kne n (“knee”).

### Pronunciation

* (verb): IPA: /²kneːə/
* (noun): IPA: /ˈkneːə/

### Verb

knee (present tense knear, past tense knea, past participle knea, passive infinitive kneast, present participle kneande, imperative knee/kne)
* (intransitive) to kneel, to fall on one's knees
    Synonym: knele
* (intransitive) to walk on one's knees
* (transitive) to poke or strike with the knee

#### Alternative forms

* knea (as a-infinitive)

### Noun

knee n
* (Midlandsnormalen) definite singular of kne

### References

* “knee” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.