Meanings
present singular third person kneels · participle present kneeling · participle past knelt · past knelt · participle past kneeled · past kneeled
- intransitiveTo rest on one's bent knees, sometimes only one; to move to such a position.
1 more example
When the flames at last began to flicker and subside, his lids fluttered, then drooped ; but he had lost all reckoning of time when he opened them again to find Miss Erroll in furs kneeling on the hearth and heaping kindling on the coals, and her pretty little Alsatian maid beside her, laying a log across the andirons.
1907 August, Robert W[illiam] Chambers, chapter III, in The Younger Set, New York, N.Y.: D. Appleton & Company, →OCLC - transitiveTo cause to kneel.
She knelt the doll to fit it into the box.
3 more examples
Raising the girl with unexpected strength, she bore her towards the chapel, the firesparks flickered in her eyes, as she knelt her burden against the altar step.
1898, K.L. Montgomery, “The Red Rosary”, in The Ludgate Illustrated Magazine, volume 6, page 47Kneel him down and stick his head in. No, don't let him up, just hold him there.
2007, Norman Horrod, On a Different Note, page 47He took the wife in his car to the piney woods outside town, and knelt her down.
2011, Joseph T. Wells, Fraud Fighter: My Fables and Foibles, page 201 - archaicreflexiveTo rest on (one's) knees.
He knelt him down to pray.
1 more example
Just when the damsel kneeled herself to pray.
1833, Robert Pollok, “The Course of Time”, in The Poetical Works of Hemans, Heber, and Pollok, page 33
Synonyms & antonyms
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Old Englishcnēowlian“to kneel”
- Middle Englishknelen
- Englishkneel
From Middle English knelen, from Old English cnēowlian (“to kneel”), equivalent to knee + -le. Cognate with Dutch knielen, Low German knelen, dialectal German knielen, Alemannic German chnüle, Danish knæle, all meaning “to kneel”.
More words from Middle English, Old English
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Ancient Greek προσκυνέω
- προσκυνέω (proskunéō)to stoop down and rest on the knee
Arabic رَكَعَ, جَثَا
- رَكَعَ (rakaʕa)to stoop down and rest on the knee
- جَثَا (jaṯā)to stoop down and rest on the knee
Basque belaunikatu
- belaunikatuto stoop down and rest on the knee
Bulgarian коленича
- коленича (koleniča)to stoop down and rest on the knee
Catalan agenollar-se
- agenollar-seto stoop down and rest on the knee
Chinese Cantonese 跪
- 跪 (gwai⁶)to stoop down and rest on the knee
Chinese Mandarin 下跪
- 下跪 (xiàguì)to stoop down and rest on the knee
Czech kleknout si, pokleknout
- kleknout sito stoop down and rest on the knee
- pokleknoutto stoop down and rest on the knee
- klečetto stoop down and rest on the knee
Danish knæle
- knæleto stoop down and rest on the knee
Dutch knielen
- knielento stoop down and rest on the knee
Esperanto genui
- genuito stoop down and rest on the knee
Estonian põlvitama
- põlvitamato stoop down and rest on the knee
Finnish polvistua
- polvistuato stoop down and rest on the knee
French s'agenouiller
- s'agenouillerto stoop down and rest on the knee
German knien
- kniento stoop down and rest on the knee
Greek γονατίζω
- γονατίζω (gonatízo)to stoop down and rest on the knee
Hebrew כָּרַע
- כָּרַעto stoop down and rest on the knee
Hungarian térdel
- térdelto stoop down and rest on the knee
Icelandic krjúpa
- krjúpato stoop down and rest on the knee
Indonesian berlutut
- berlututto stoop down and rest on the knee
Irish sléacht, téigh ar do ghlúine
- sléachtto stoop down and rest on the knee
- téigh ar do ghlúineto stoop down and rest on the knee
- bí ar do ghlúineto stoop down and rest on the knee
Italian inginocchiarsi
- inginocchiarsito stoop down and rest on the knee
Japanese 跪く
- 跪く (hizamazuku)to stoop down and rest on the knee
Korean 꿇다
- 꿇다 (kkulta)to stoop down and rest on the knee
Latin genuflecto
- genuflectoto stoop down and rest on the knee
Latvian nomesties ceļos
- nomesties ceļosto stoop down and rest on the knee
Malay berlutut
- berlututto stoop down and rest on the knee
Māori tūturi
- tūturito stoop down and rest on the knee
Norwegian knele
- kneleto stoop down and rest on the knee
Persian زانو زدن
- زانو زدن (zânu zadan)to stoop down and rest on the knee
Polish klęczeć
- klęczećto stoop down and rest on the knee
Portuguese ajoelhar-se
- ajoelhar-seto stoop down and rest on the knee
Romanian îngenunchea
- îngenuncheato stoop down and rest on the knee
Russian преклоня́ться, стоя́ть на коле́нях
- преклоня́ться (preklonjátʹsja)to stoop down and rest on the knee
- стоя́ть на коле́нях (stojátʹ na kolénjax)to stoop down and rest on the knee
Spanish arrodillarse, ahinojar
- arrodillarseto stoop down and rest on the knee
- ahinojarto stoop down and rest on the knee
Swahili kupiga magoti
- kupiga magotito stoop down and rest on the knee
Swedish nigning, knäböja
- nigningto sink down, making it easier for passengers to enter
- knäböjato stoop down and rest on the knee
- knäfallato stoop down and rest on the knee
- falla på knäto stoop down and rest on the knee
Tagalog luhod
- luhodto stoop down and rest on the knee
Thai คุกเข่า
- คุกเข่า (kúk-kào)to stoop down and rest on the knee
Turkish diz çökmek
- diz çökmekto stoop down and rest on the knee
Ukrainian клякати, вклякати
- клякати (kljakaty)to stoop down and rest on the knee
- вклякати (vkljakaty)to stoop down and rest on the knee
- ставати на коліна (stavaty na kolina)to stoop down and rest on the knee
Vietnamese quỳ
- quỳto stoop down and rest on the knee
Welsh penlinio, penglinio
- penlinioto stoop down and rest on the knee
- penglinioto stoop down and rest on the knee
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with kneel
Sounds the same
Anagrams
Cite this entry
kneel. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/kneel
“kneel.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/kneel. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “kneel,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/kneel.
Source: kneel on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.