genuflect
English
WOTD – 22 January 2008
Etymology
PIE word |
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*ǵónu |
From around 1620–1630 from Medieval Latin genūflectō (“I bend the knee”) equivalent to the Latin genū (“knee”) + flectō (“to bend”).
Pronunciation
- (Received Pronunciation, US) IPA(key): /ˈdʒɛn.jʊ.flɛkt/
Audio (US) (file) Audio (AU) (file)
Verb
genuflect (third-person singular simple present genuflects, present participle genuflecting, simple past and past participle genuflected)
- (intransitive, archaic) To bend the knee, as in servitude.
- (intransitive) To briefly touch one knee to the ground, typically associated with religious worship.
- 1913, Adrian Fortescue, Catholic Encyclopedia, "Gospel in the Liturgy"
- 1965, Tom Lehrer, The Vatican Rag
- First you get down on your knees, fiddle with your rosaries, / Bow your head with great respect and genuflect, genuflect, genuflect.
- (intransitive, figuratively) To behave in a servile manner; to grovel.
Related terms
Translations
to bend the knee, as in servitude or worship
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to behave in a servile manner
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References
- genuflect at OneLook Dictionary Search
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