Knee

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /niː/

Definitions

1. The joint in the middle of the leg that allows it to bend
2. The joint connecting the thigh and lower leg that facilitates movement and supports body weight
3. A crucial joint in the human leg that allows bending and stabilizes walking and standing

Etymology: The body part "knee" has been in English for roughly a thousand years, and its ancestor was a word with an unusual rival: Latin "genu," which gave English words like "genuflect." Old English "cnēow" descends from a Proto-Germanic form, "knewą," and the same Indo-European root that produced Latin "genū" and Ancient Greek "gónu," meaning "knee." Greek "gōnía," meaning "corner" or "angle," comes from the same root, which makes sense once you picture a bent joint forming a corner. Other Germanic languages preserve the same word with little change: Dutch "knie," German "Knie," Swedish "knä," and Danish "knæ" all come from that shared ancestor. The Welsh "glin" and Sanskrit "jā́nu" belong to the same extended family of words for the joint. The plural "kneen," now obsolete, came from Middle English forms such as "kneen" and "kneuwene," showing that English once had a distinct plural that was gradually replaced by "knees."

Synonyms: joint, bend