Kneeled

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. To have adopted a position where the body is lowered by bending the legs at the joints, resting on the knees in a gesture of worship or submission
2. To be in a stance with one or both knees on the ground, often signifying respect, humility, or the act of pleading
3. To assume a position by bending the legs at the joints and resting on the knees, which can symbolize reverence, submission, or an appeal for mercy

Etymology: "Kneeled" is the regular past tense and past participle of "kneel." The verb comes from Middle English "knelen," which descends from the Old English "cnēowlian," meaning to kneel. That Old English form is built from "cnēow," the ancestor of "knee," plus a suffix, so the verb is literally a derivative of the body part it describes. Its relatives are found across the Germanic languages: Dutch "knielen," Low German "knelen," and Danish "knæle" all mean "to kneel." Their shared shape points to a common ancestral verb rather than a loan from one language into another.

Synonyms: knelt, bent, sank