Etymology

bend the knee

Today it means: To swear fealty or allegiance to another person. Full definition →

Latin genūflectō
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The story

  1. Latin · calque ofgenūflectō
  2. English todaybend the knee

Calque of Latin genūflectō. Popularized by its use on the television series Game of Thrones (2011-2019).

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.