Geniculating

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. To bend abruptly like a sharp angle or a bent knee
2. Having the form of a distinct knee-like bend or sharp turn
3. Showing a clear angular bend resembling the shape of a bent leg

Etymology: The verb "geniculate" comes from Latin "geniculātus," meaning "with bended knee," built on "geniculum," "little knee." That diminutive is a small-scale version of "genu," the ordinary Latin word for knee, which also gave English "genuflect," to bend the knee in reverence. The knee-bending sense is the root of the whole family, and it stays visible in the botanical and anatomical senses that drew on it. The "-ing" ending simply turns the verb into its present participle, describing things that are bending at angles, such as a stem or a jointed limb in motion. The Latin "-ātus" that closes "geniculātus" is a participial suffix, and English borrowed the whole formation as a learned word, so the knee image passed into English without any change of meaning in its core.