Kneel

Pronunciation: /niːl/

Definitions of kneel

verb to go down or rest on one or both knees

Example Sentences

A1 The knight had to kneel before the king.

A2 She asked him to kneel down and propose to her.

B1 The protesters decided to kneel in solidarity with the movement.

B2 As a sign of respect, he chose to kneel before entering the temple.

C1 In some cultures, it is customary to kneel when greeting someone of higher status.

C2 The athlete knelt in exhaustion after completing the marathon.

Examples of kneel in a Sentence

formal The knight was commanded to kneel before the king.

informal I had to kneel down to tie my shoelaces.

slang I ain't gonna kneel to anyone, I stand my ground.

figurative Sometimes you have to kneel before you can rise stronger than before.

Grammatical Forms of kneel

• past tense: knelt
• plural: kneels
• comparative: more kneeling
• superlative: most kneeling
• present tense: kneel
• future tense: will kneel
• perfect tense: have knelt
• continuous tense: is kneeling
• singular: kneel
• positive degree: kneel
• infinitive: to kneel
• gerund: kneeling
• participle: kneeling

Origin and Evolution of kneel

First Known Use: 1250 year

Language of Origin: Old English

Story behind the word: The word 'kneel' originated from the Old English word 'cneowlian', which is derived from the Proto-Germanic word 'knewlaz'.

Evolution of the word: Over time, the word 'kneel' has retained its basic meaning of bending the knee to rest on the ground as a sign of reverence or submission.