Knelt

Part of speech: verb

Pronunciation: /nɛlt/

Definitions

1. To assume a stance by resting the body on one's knees while either showing reverence or soliciting help from a higher power or authority
2. To lower the body to the ground by bending the knees, often as an expression of humility or request
3. Moved the body down so that one or both knees touched the ground as a sign of respect or supplication

Etymology: "Knelt" is the past tense of "kneel," and the verb it belongs to began as a sort of stretched-out version of "knee." Old English speakers had the noun "cnēow" (knee) and built from it a verb "cnēowlian," meaning to get down on the knees. The verb came into Middle English as "knelen," and over time the older form "knelt" took shape as its past tense, eventually sitting alongside the regular "kneeled" that you will still see in American usage. The Old English root gives the verb its physical sense, and the word has stayed tied to that body part ever since. Its relatives in other Germanic languages, such as Dutch "knielen" and Danish "knæle," show the same pattern, which suggests the verb was built on the same knee-based stem across the family rather than borrowed from elsewhere.

Synonyms: squatted, bent, crouched

Antonyms: stood, rose