| 释义 |
▪ I. knee, n.|niː|
Forms: α. 1–3 cneow, cnew, (1 cneu, kneu), 3 cno(u)w, (Orm.) cnewwe, 4 know(e, knew; pl. 1 cneow, -u, -a; 3 -en; 2–4 -es. β. 1–3 cneo, 3 cne, 3–5 kneo, 3–6 kne, 5– knee; pl. 1 cneo; 1–5 -en, -n; 3– -s.
[Com. Teut.: OE. cnéow, cnéo neut., = OFris. kniu, kni, knē, OS. knio, kneo (Du. knie fem.), OHG. chniu, kneo (MHG. kniu, knie, Ger. knie), ON. knē (Sw. knä, Dan. knæ), Goth. kniu, gen. kniwis:—OTeut. *knewom = pre-Teut. *gneuo-: cf. L. genu, Gr. γόνυ, Skr. jānu knee; also Goth. knu-ssjan to kneel, Gr. γνύξ with bent knee, Skr. abhi-jnu to the knee. These forms point to an orig. ablaut stem geneu-, goneu-, gneu-, liable to shortening of the second syllable.]
I. The part of the limb, etc.
1. a. The joint, or region about the joint, between the thigh and the lower leg; by extension, the part of the thigh of a sitting person over the knee.
αc825Vesp. Psalter cviii. 24 Cneow min ᵹeuntrumad sind fore festenne. 971Blickl. Hom. 43 Hine besencton..æt his cneowa. c1000Ags. Ps. (Th.) cviii. 24 Me synt cneowu swylce cwicu unhale. c1000Sax. Leechd. I. 186 Beþe þonne þa fet & þa cnewu. c1200Vices & Virtues 51 He ðat alle cnewes to cnelið. c1290St. Michael 725 in S. Eng. Leg. I. 320 Þe kneuwene in eiþur eiȝe. 1377Langl. P. Pl. B. v. 359 Clement the cobelere..leyde hym on his knowes.
βa1000Phoenix 514 Þonne anwald eal..ban ᵹegædrað..fore cristes cneo. c1200Ormin 4775 Cnes, & fet, & shannkess. c1275XI Pains Hell 96 in O.E. Misc. 149 Þat stondeþ vp to heore kneow. a1300Cursor M. 12685 Hes knes war bolnd sua þat he ne moght vnnethes ga. c1400Trevisa's Higden (Rolls) V. 461 He wolde..lenye on his kneon [v.r. knees]. c1470Henry Wallace i. 323 On kneis he faucht. a1500Chester Pl. (E.E.T.S.) 403 Hym honour we and all men, devoutly kneling on our knen. 1597Shakes. 2 Hen. IV, ii. iv. 247 Sit on my Knee, Dol. 1711–12Swift Lett. (1767) III. 291 The queen has the gout in her knee. 1800Wordsw. Pet Lamb 7 With one knee on the grass did the little maiden kneel. a1835Mrs. Hemans Graves of a Househ. vii, Whose voices mingled as they prayed, Around one parent knee. 1841H. Smith Addr. Mummy xi, Have children climbed those knees and kissed that face? 1858Gen. P. Thompson Audi Alt. (1859) II. lxxix. 36 One of the earliest stories learned at a mother's knee.
b. A damaged condition of the knee. Cf. housemaid's knee (housemaid c), tennis-knee (tennis n. 3 b).
1921J. C. Jenkins in E. H. D. Sewell Rugby Football ix. 195 Unfortunately developed a ‘knee’ and had to retire in his prime. 1922Joyce Ulysses 127 ‘Are you hurt? I'm in a hurry.’ ‘Knee,’ Lenehan said. He made a comic face and whined, rubbing his knee. 1971I. Peebles Denis Compton x. 97 Denis, handicapped by his knee, was no longer able to get down the pitch to the slower bowlers.
2. In various phrases:
a. knee by knee, side by side and close together; knee to knee, = prec.; also, facing each other with the knees touching.
b. to offer or give a knee, to act as second in a pugilistic encounter, it being customary for a second to give a principal the support of his knee between the rounds.
c. on the knees of the gods (Gr. θεῶν ἐν γούνασι, Hom.), dependent on superhuman disposal, beyond human control.
d. across one's knee, (of someone, esp. a child) placed face-down on the knee(s) to be spanked.
a.1759Cooper in Phil. Trans. LI. 39 Another old woman sitting knee to knee with her companion. 1798Coleridge Anc. Mar. v. xii, The body of my brother's son Stood by me, knee to knee. 1842Tennyson Vision of Sin 84 Sit thee down,..Cheek by jowl, and knee by knee. 1899Daily News 27 June 5/7 Men were wedged tightly knee-to-knee as they rode at a gallop.
b.1848Thackeray Van. Fair v, Every body was anxious to have the honour of offering the conqueror a knee. 1857Hughes Tom Brown ii. v, Tom..with Martin to give him a knee, steps out on the turf.
c.1879Butcher & Lang Odyssey i. 9 Howbeit these things surely lie on the knees of the gods, whether he shall return or not. 1900Daily News 17 Aug. 6/5 Such things are yet upon the knees of the gods.
d.1866[see whipping vbl. n. 1 a]. 1916‘Taffrail’ Pincher Martin ix. 154 If yer don't stop it I'll put yer across my knee an' give yer wot for. 1936‘N. Blake’ Thou Shell of Death xiii. 230 Manny's the time I've had him across me knee—and Miss Judith, too—and belted them with a slipper. 1959I. Fleming Goldfinger ix. 126 This one has got to go dead or I'll put you across my knee.
3. esp. In phrases having reference to kneeling or bowing in worship, supplication, or submission.
a. With governing prep.: on or upon the (one's) knee(s; to fall, go, kneel, † lie, † set oneself, † sit down on one's knees († on knee(s), to bring one to his knees; see also aknee, fall v. 20. b. With governing vb.: to bend, bow, drop, † fold, put the (one's) knee; see also bow v.1 9 c, bended. c. As the part of the limb used in kneeling or bowing; to owe a knee, to owe reverence or adoration; † with cap and knee: see cap n.1 4 h.
a.c893K. ælfred Oros. iii. ix. §14 Þeh þe hie hiene meðiᵹne on cneowum sittende metten. a1000Elene 1136 (Gr.) Cwene willa heo on cneow sette. c1200Ormin 6627 Buȝhenn himm o cnewwe. Ibid. 6467 Þeȝȝ..fellenn dun o cnewwess. c1205Lay. 12685 Ȝe bidden for me on eower bare cneowen. Ibid. 12941 He..feol on his cneowen. c1386Chaucer Knt.'s T. 1017 Doun on knees wente every maner wight. 1390Gower Conf. I. 286 Sche began merci to crie, Upon hire bare knes. a1548Hall Chron., Hen. V, 50 On theyr knes desired to have theyr lives saved. 1717Lady M. W. Montague Let. to C'tess Bristol 1 Apr., A minister of state is not spoken to, but upon the knee. 1800I. Milner in Life xii. (1842) 204 In a very short time you may be on your knees to this very B[uonaparte]. 1855Macaulay Hist. Eng. xx. IV. 402 The Marshal reasoned: he implored: he went on his knees. 1887Times (weekly ed.) 4 Nov. 10/3 A very efficacious method of bringing a..troublesome class of offenders to their knees.
b.c950Lindisf. Gosp. Matt. xxvii. 29 Cnew [c 975 Rushw. Gosp. kneu] ᵹebeᵹed bifora him. c1000Ags. Gosp. ibid., Biᵹdon heora cneow beforan him. a1240Ureisun in Cott. Hom. 191 To þe ich buwe and mine kneon ich beie. 1382Wyclif Acts xx. 36 His knees putt, he preiede with alle hem. 1567Gude & Goldie B. (S.T.S.) 51 The kneis of my hart sall I bow. 1580Sidney Ps. v. iii, I..in Thy feare, knees of my heart will fold. 1593Shakes. Rich. II, iv. i. 165, I hardly yet haue learn'd To insinuate, flatter, bowe, and bend my Knee. 1611Bible Prayer Manasses, I bow the knee of mine heart, beseeching thee of grace. 1667Milton P.L. v. 788 Will ye submit your necks, and chuse to bend The supple knee? 1715R. Nelson tr. A Kempis' Chr. Exerc. iii. vi. 116 When with knees bended, thou entreatest for the Pardon of thy Sins. 1857Keble Euchar. Ador. 3 If we kneel and bow the knees of our hearts to receive a blessing.
c.1513More in Grafton Chron. (1568) II. 761, I would never have wonne the curtesie of so many mens knees with the losse of so many mens hands. 1596Shakes. 1 Hen. IV, iv. iii. 68 The more and lesse came in with Cap and Knee. 1607― Cor. v. iii. 57 What's this? your knees to me? To your corrected son? 1640Bp. Reynolds Passions xiii, I cannot but think that..the reed and knees of those mocking and blasphemous Jews were so many drops of that full cup. a1699J. Kirkton Hist. Ch. Scot. (1817) 210 (E.D.D.) When they came to town they were so attended with salutations, caps, and knees.
4. A joint in an animal likened to, or regarded as corresponding in position or shape to, the human knee.
a. The carpal articulation of the foreleg of the horse, cow, cat, or other quadruped.
b. The tarsal articulation or heel of a bird.
c. The joint of an insect's leg between the femur and the tibia.
c1450Two Cookery-bks. 116 Lete a fesaunt blode in the mouth..& kutt a-wey..the legges by the kne. 1486Bk. St. Albans B j, The federis that bene at the Ioynte: at the hawkes kne thay stonde hangyng. 1626Bacon Sylva §45 A pottage of strong nourishment..made with the knees and sinews of beef, but long boiled. 1753Chambers Cycl. Supp., Knee in the Manege, is the joint of the fore quarters, that joins the fore thigh to the shank. 1831Youatt Horse (1848) 339 In examining a horse for purchase the knees should be very strictly scrutinised. 1858Fred. Smith Catal. Brit. Foss. Hymenopt. 111 Didineis lunicornis..Female..the legs simple, with the knees of the anterior femora..of a testaceous yellow. 1893Newton Dict. Birds 498 Knee, a term commonly misapplied by many ornithological writers to the intertarsal (often called tibio-tarsal) joint.
5. The part of a garment covering the knee.
1662Pepys Diary 12 June, I tried on my riding-cloth suit with close knees..I think they will be very convenient, if not too hot to wear any other open knees after them. 1844J. T. J. Hewlett Parsons & W. x, His coat and waistcoat off, and his knees unbottoned. 1887M. E. Braddon Like & Unlike I. iv. 107 There is always a new man coming to the front, with advanced theories upon the cutting of the knee. 1896Mrs. Caffyn Quaker Grandmother 30 The very knees of your flannels won't flop and bag.
II. Something resembling the knee in position or shape.
6. a. Part of a hill, tree, etc., regarded as corresponding to the knee.
c1586C'tess Pembroke Ps. lxxii. vii, The woods, where enterlaced trees..Joyne at the head, though distant at the knees. c1640J. Smyth Hundred of Berkeley (1885) 4 The sydes, knees, and feete of those hills. 1842Tennyson Talking Oak 29 Hail, hidden to the knees in fern, Broad Oak of Sumner-chace!
b. A natural prominence, as a rock or crag. rare.
1590Spenser F.Q. i. ix. 34 All about old stockes and stubs of trees..Did hang upon the ragged rocky knees.
7. A piece of timber having a natural angular bend, or artificially so bent; also a piece of metal of the same shape.
a. Shipbuilding and Naut. A piece of timber naturally bent, used to secure parts of a ship together, esp. one with an angular bend used to connect the beams and the timbers; by extension, a bent piece of iron serving the same purpose; † formerly applied to any naturally grown bent timber used in shipbuilding. knee of the head, a cutwater: cf. head1 21.
Hence carline-, cheek-, dagger-, head-, heel-, standard-, sternpost-knee: q.v.
1352Excheq. Acc. Q.R. (Bundle 20. No. 27. P.R.O.) Pro iij. lignis maer[emii] curvis vocatis ‘knowes’ sic emptis et positis in nave predicta. 1497Naval Acc. Hen. VII (1896) 293 Boltes of yron for Knees in the seid Ship. 1600Hakluyt Voy. III. 864 Carpenters to set knees into her, and any other tymbers appertaining to the strengthening of a shippe. 1626Capt. Smith Accid. Yng. Seamen 9 All the beames to be bound with two knees at each ende. 1706Phillips s.v., The Cut-water of a Ship is also called the Knee of the Head. 1769Falconer Dict. Marine (1789), Knees are either said to be lodging or hanging. The former are fixed horizontally... The latter are fixed vertically. 1878A. H. Markham Gt. Frozen Sea i. 3 Extra iron knees were introduced in order more effectually to resist the enormous pressure of the ice.
b. Carpentry and Mech. A piece of timber or metal naturally or artificially shaped, so as to fit into an angle; also, the bend in such a piece, or one made by the junction of any two pieces.
1677–83Moxon Mech. Exerc. (1703) 142 Knees of the principal Rafters, to be made all of one piece with the principal Rafters. Ibid. 162, Knee, a piece of Timber growing angularly, or crooked. 1703T. N. City & C. Purchaser 146 When Rafters are cut with a Knee, these Furrings are pieces that go straight along with the Rafter from the top of the Knee to the Cornish. 1825J. Nicholson Operat. Mechanic 103 Two knees of cast-iron, to support the posts that the gates are fixed to.
c. spec. (a) An elbow-piece connecting parts in which the side plates are let into the pieces of timber and bolted thereto. (b) ‘A piece framed into and connecting the bench and runner of sled or sleigh’. (c) ‘An elbow or toggle-joint’ (Knight Dict. Mech. 1875).
8. Arch. (See quots.)
1823P. Nicholson Pract. Build. 201 A Knee, in a dog⁓legged and open-newelled stair-case, is the lower end of a hand-rail. 1842–76Gwilt Archit. (ed. 7) Gloss., Knee, a part of the back of a handrailing, of a convex form, being the reverse of a ramp, which..is concave. 1850Parker Gloss. Archit., Knee,..the projectura or projection of the architrave mouldings, at the ends of the lintel in the dressings of a door or window of classical architecture.
9. Bot.
†a. An articulation or joint; esp. a bent joint in some grasses (cf. kneed 1 b, knee-sick). Obs.
b. A spur-like process on the roots of the bald cypress (Taxodium distichum) and tupelo (Nyssa), rising above the water in which the tree grows: cf. cypress-knee (cypress 4).
[1597Gerarde Herbal i. xii. 14 Kneed grasse..is so called, bicause it hath ioints like as it were knees.] 1678Phillips (ed. 4), Knees, in the Art Botanick, are those Partitions, which in some Kinds of Plants are like Knees or Joynts. 1878Folk-Lore Rec. I. 221 (E.D.D.) Find a straw with nine knees. 1889Science (U.S.) XIII. 176/2 Inquiries concerning the knees of the swamp cypress..led me to the supposition that these peculiar processes from the roots served in some manner to aerate the sap. Ibid. 177/1 At this stage..if the crown be permanently wet, the knees [of Nyssa uniflora] become an extremely conspicuous feature.
10. Anat. (See quots.)
1840G. V. Ellis Anat. 33 [In the brain] The part of the corpus callosum that bends is called the knee, and the prolonged portion the beak. 1881Syd. Soc. Lex., Beak of corpus callosum, the recurved anterior termination of the corpus callosum of the brain beyond what is called the knee.
†11. fig. A degree of descent in a genealogy.
c1000Laws of Ethelred vi. c. 12 in Schmid Gesetze, Ne ᵹeweorðe, þæt cristen man ᵹewifiᵹe in vi. manna sib-fæce, on his aᵹenum cynne, þæt is binnan feorðan cneowe. c1250Gen. & Ex. 444 Lamech is at ðe sexte kne, ðe seuende man after adam. 1297R. Glouc. (Rolls) 4691 Yde,..com of woden þe olde louerd, as in þe teþe kne. c1340Cursor M. 9260 (Trin.) Who so wol se fro adam þe olde How mony knees to crist are tolde.
12. An abrupt obtuse or approximately right-angled bend in a graph between parts where the slope varies smoothly.
1880Proc. R. Soc. XXX. 513 An interval of constant stress of even five seconds produces a perceptible ‘knee’ in the curve. Ibid. 514 We get a stepped curve, having a number of ‘knees’ upon it. 1904Physical Rev. XIX. 114 On the rising curve there is seen to be a more or less well defined ‘knee’ where the relation of stress to strain undergoes a marked change. This ‘knee’ might be said to mark the elastic limit. 1926R. W. Hutchinson First Course Wireless viii. 144 Consider now the parts of the curve where the bending is greatest, i.e. the ‘knees’. 1957G. E. Hutchinson Treat. Limnol. I. vii. 429 From the upper plane of maximum curvature, termed by Munk and Anderson the knee of the thermocline, to the lower plane of maximum (inverse) curvature. 1967L. G. Lawrence Electronics in Oceanogr. iii. 56 The arrangement makes special use of the knowledge that the saturation ‘knee’ of a B-H loop of a given material can be modified by allowing the magnetism of the earth to contribute to the effective operating point of this knee.
III. attrib. and Comb.
13. General Comb., as knee-apron, knee-band, knee-bath, knee-bolt, knee-buckle, knee-cords, knee-end, knee-giver, knee-grip, knee-height, knee-labour, knee-line, knee-muscle, knee-pad, knee-pants, knee-room, knee-shorts, knee-smalls, knee-sock, knee-splint, knee-sprain, † knee-stead, knee-tribute, knee-trick, knee-trousers (U.S.), knee-ward, knee-way, knee-worship; knee-crooking, knee propt, knee-shaped, knee-worn adjs.; kneewards adv.
1885Daily News 22 Jan. 3/3 A *knee-apron and cape belonging to..the driver of the cab.
1822–34Good's Study Med. (ed. 4) I. 330 A narrow tub for a *knee-bath, just wide enough to hold the feet and reach the knees.
1874Thearle Naval Archit. 36 The whole of the fastenings of the shelf, including the *knee bolts.
1754South Carolina Gaz. 1–8 Jan. 4/3 To be sold{ddd}shoe and *knee buckles, snuffers, gun hammers. 1772Henley in Phil. Trans. LXII. 135 His stock, shoe, and knee-buckles,..were all uninjured.
1837Dickens Pickw. xiv, It had long been his ambition to stand in a bar of his own, in a green coat, *knee-cords, and tops.
1604Shakes. Oth. i. i. 45 A dutious and *knee-crooking knaue.
1869E. J. Reed Shipbuild. xv. 286 The *knee-ends of the girder are connected with the bulkheads by double vertical angle-irons.
1903Westm. Gaz. 12 Feb. 2/4 The bridle-rein light in the hand, The *knee-grip steady and sure. 1925E. T. Brown Compl. Moter-Cyclist 126 The non-essential accessories include a luggage grid, speedometer, leg-shields.., knee-grips, handle-bar gloves.
1834H. Miller Scenes & Leg. xxiii. (1857) 334 The white table..raised *knee-height over the floor.
1640Brome Antipodes v. vi. Wks. 1873 III. 330 She kneeles. Tis but so much *knee-labour lost.
1858J. A. Warder Hedges & Evergreens 71 As it is easier to work on your knees, you will provide thick *knee-pads for them. 1955E. Pound Classic Anthol. i. 71 Saw I white knee-pads decent misery I'd know one man still feels and thinks as I. 1972P. Driscoll Wilby Conspiracy (1973) xi. 145 September, on all fours with a pair of rubber knee-pads on, was vigorously polishing the slate floor.
1869Atlantic Monthly July 74/2, I made my initial bow before the foot-lights, in my small Canton flannel *knee-pants. 1916Daily Colonist (Victoria, B.C.) 1 July 12/4 (Advt.), Boys' Straight Knee Pants, of good quality English tweeds. 1942Short Guide Gr. Brit. (U.S. War Dept.) 20 There are..youngsters in knee pants..who have lived through more high explosives..than many soldiers saw..in the last war. 1969Widdowson & Halpert in Halpert & Story Christmas Mumming in Newfoundland 162 More modern costumes reported alongside the older disguises include service uniforms, ice-hockey clothing (presumably with padded shoulders and knee pants), [etc.].
1798W. Sotheby tr. Wieland's Oberon (1826) II. 124 Rests on her *knee-propt arm her drooping head.
1958Times 19 Aug. 11/6 The headroom is only just sufficient, and the same reservation applies to the *kneeroom in the back when the driver's seat is pushed back for a fairly tall driver. 1970Times 16 Apr. 18 More front headroom and rear kneeroom could be devised by reducing the bulk of their cushions and back⁓rests.
1847–9Todd Cycl. Anat. IV. 545/2 The same *knee-shaped bend.
1844Dickens Mart. Chuz. xxvi, A flannel jacket, and corduroy *knee-shorts.
1838― Nich. Nick. xxiii, Played some part in blue silk *knee-smalls.
1964Punch 19 Aug. 284/3 Green plaid *knee-socks end in sling-back shoes. 1966T. Pynchon Crying of Lot 49 ii. 41 A long-leg girdle and a couple pairs of knee socks.
1591Greene Farew. Folly Wks. 1881–3 IX. 294 Sugar candie she is,..fro the wast to the *kneestead.
1667Milton P.L. v. 782 Coming to receive from us *Knee-tribute yet unpaid, prostration vile.
1899T. Hall Tales 162 Since she was a little girl in short dresses and he a boy in *knee trousers.
1575Turberv. Faulconrie 349 Knit it on the side towards the leg to the *kneeward.
1926Brit. Weekly 24 June 250/5 On the patterned skirt the design grew larger as it reached *kneewards. 1968G. Jones Hist. Vikings iii. iv. 255 Ibn Rustah notes the full baggy trousers gathered kneewards vouched for by Scandinavian picture stones.
1900Westm. Gaz. 18 Sept. 10/1 There are umbrella-stands at the ends of the seats, and plenty of *knee-way is given.
1832R. Cattermole Beckett 8 My prayers rose from no *knee-worn cell.
1630Sanderson Serm. II. 262 The *knee-worship, and the cap-worship, and the lip-worship they may have that are in worshipful places and callings.
14. Special Combs.: knee-action, (a) in a horse, the action or coordination of movement of the knee joint; (b) exaggerated raising of the knee by an athlete; (c) in motor vehicles, a form of independent front-wheel suspension; knee apparatus, surgical apparatus for fracture, etc., of the knee; knee-ball: see quot.; knee-bend, the action of bending the (human) knee, esp. used of a physical exercise in which the body is raised and lowered without use of the hands; so knee-bend v. intr.; knee-bent, -bowed adjs., of grasses and straws, bent or bowed at the knees or joints (see 9 a); knee-board, (a) the part of the leg at the back of the knee, the back of the thigh or hough; (b) in a cotton-yarn winding-machine (see quot.); knee-bone, the patella, knee-cap; knee-boot, (a) a boot reaching to the knee; (b) a leathern apron to draw over the knees in a carriage; knee-boss, a piece of armour used in the Middle Ages to protect the knee, consisting of a cap of leather or other material; knee-brace Engin., a strut fixed diagonally between the lower chord of a truss and one of its supporting columns; hence knee-braced ppl. a., -bracing vbl. n.; knee-breech, sing. of knee-breeches; knee-breeches (Sc. -breeks), breeches reaching down to, or just below, the knee (hence knee-breeched a., wearing knee-breeches); knee-brush, (a) a tuft of long hair, immediately below the carpal joint, on the legs of some antelopes; (b) a hairy mass covering the legs of bees, on which they carry pollen (cf. brush n.2 4); knee-chest position, a position adopted by some women in sexual intercourse (see quot. 1936); knee-drill, kneeling to order for prayers: a term of the Salvation Army; knee-elbow position, ‘the prone position of the body when supported on a bed or couch by the knees and the elbows, so that the face is lower than the pelvis, and the abdominal muscles become relaxed’ (Syd. Soc. Lex. 1888); † knee-evil = knee-ill; knee-fringe, a fringe on the bottom of knee-breeches; † knee-grass: see kneed 1 b; knee-guard, a genouillère; knee-hobbling vbl. n., fastening an animal's knees with a hobble; knee-hul(l, † -hulver = knee-holly; knee-ill, -iron: see quots.; knee-jerk, see quots.; also attrib., and fig., predictable, automatic, stereotyped; knee-jump, -kick = knee-jerk; knee-knaps, ‘leathers worn over the knees by thatchers’ (Barnes Gloss. Dorset 1864); knee-length attrib., reaching down (or up) to the knee; also ellipt., (a garment of) such a length; knee-piece, (a) a bent piece of timber used in shipbuilding: = sense 7 a; (b) = knee-rafter; (c) a genouillère; knee-pine, a dwarf variety of the European mountain pine; knee-plate, (a) a broad steel plate worn from the 15th to the 17th c. as a protection for the thigh; (b) Shipbuilding, an angled metal plate used as a knee (sense 7 a); knee-process = 9 b; knee-punch: see quot.; knee-rafter, a rafter the lower end of which is bent downwards; knee-reflex = knee-jerk; knee-roof = curb-roof; † kneeshive [Ger. kniescheibe, Du. knieschijf], the knee-cap; knee-sick a.: see quot.; knee-slapper U.S., an uproariously funny joke; knee-sprung a. Farriery (see quot. 1905); knee-stake v. trans., in Leather manuf., to soften (a skin) by aid of the knee; knee-stop = knee-swell; knee-strap, (a) the strap used by a shoemaker to keep a boot in position on his knee; (b) U.S. ‘in a railroad-car, a wrought-iron facing to a knee-timber, connecting the end-sill and the stirrup or drawbar carry-iron’ (Cent. Dict. 1890); knee-strings, strings worn round the knee at the bottom of knee-breeches; knee-swell, in the harmonium and American organ, a lever operated by the performer's knee for producing crescendo and diminuendo effects; knee-table, a knee-hole table; † knee-ties = knee-strings; knee-trembler slang, an act of sexual intercourse between persons in a standing position (so knee-tremble). Also knee-cap, -deep, -halter, etc., q.v.
1868H. Woodruff Trotting Horse iv. 62 [The colt] continually hit himself in the elbows, by reason of excessive *knee-action as it appeared. 1903A. Adams Log of Cowboy xv. 100 They will discuss how to shoe that filly so as to give her certain knee action which she seems to need. 1908Westm. Gaz. 22 July 2/1 My action is low and sweeping, mainly from the hips, but many men..have a lot of what may be called ‘knee-action’. 1935A. C. Baugh Hist. Eng. Lang. x. 370 Of late we have heard a good bit about free-wheeling, safety-glass, knee-action, while service stations and tourist camps are everywhere along the road. 1963R. F. Webb Motorists' Dict. 144 Knee-action suspension... The front wheels are supported on upper and lower radius arms, the upper of which has an action like the human knee joint where it joins the king pin link support.
1826Kirby & Sp. Entomol. III. 385 Molula (the *Knee-ball), the convex and sometimes bent head of the Tibia, armed with a horny process on each side, by which it is attached to the thigh.
1941Penguin New Writing IX. 62, I practise the *knee-bend, the stare, and the slow roll. 1961A. Miller Misfits xi. 119 Guido half knee-bends with his rope over his thighs and pulls. 1963I. Fleming On H.M. Secret Service xi. 117 He proceeded to a quarter of an hour of knee-bends and press-ups. 1972Village Voice (N.Y.) 1 June 26/2 La Lanne moves from knee bends and neck stretches to pitching his mattresses and reducing aids without the slightest break in his pace or enthusiasm.
1776–96Withering Brit. Plants (ed. 3) II. 119 Straw not only ascending, but *knee-bent.
1895R. Marsden Cotton Weaving 257 The board..generally called the *knee-board, an incorrect name if regard be had to its function. This board is usually covered with flannel, and forms a check upon the too easy delivery of the yarn to the draught of the spindle, thereby securing uniformity of tension in the winding.
1886Elworthy W. Somerset Word-bk., *Knee-bowed, said of corn after much rain.
c1425Voc. in Wr.-Wülcker 637/13 Hec fragus, *kneborde.
c1410Chron. Eng. 758 Hys legges hy corven of anon, Faste by the *kneo-bon. 1898Westm. Gaz. 21 July 7/1 [He] stated that successful cases of the binding of the knee-bone had been known after a fortnight's delay.
1794W. Felton Carriages (1801) I. 205 At the top of some *knee-boots, an iron-jointed rod is sewed in the leather, which fixes in spring sockets on the elbow-rail. 1892Gentlewomen's Bk. Sports I. 97, I wear a waterproof skirt, and india-rubber knee-boots.
1912A. Morley Theory of Struct. xv. 423 The *kneebraces meeting the stanchions 4·75 feet below the caps. 1959L. C. Urquhart Civil Engin. Handbk. (ed. 4) v. 3 Frequently..trusses are stiffened in their own vertical planes by inserting knee braces at both ends between the bottom chord and supporting columns.
1915H. R. Thayer Struct. Design II. xii. 448 (heading) The *knee-braced steel frame. 1940Archit. Rev. Mar. 102/2 The roof unit and ceiling members..in the 27 ft. wide blocks [form] a knee-braced truss. 1950Engineering 31 Mar. 366/1 By using a knee-braced portal structure, broad-flange beams may be employed for spans up to about 70 ft.
1912H. R. Thayer Struct. Design I. iii. 53 It is sometimes necessary to use *knee bracing..but it is not as strong as the X bracing..and it introduces large bending stresses.
1904Daily Chron. 11 Oct. 3/5 Men do not dress now, they merely clothe themselves, and they will not alter this fact by adopting the *knee-breech. 1927Observer 22 May 12 (heading) A blow to the knee-breech crusade. 1826J. Wilson Noct. Ambr. Wks. 1855 II. 275 There he is,—wi' his..licht casimer knee-breeks wi' lang ties. 1833H. Martineau Loom & Lugger i. i. 4 It is so odd to see such a little fellow with knee-breeches. 1860Fairholt Costume Eng. Gloss. (ed. 2) 400 The plain tight knee-breeches, still worn as court-dress.
1884Harper's Mag. Jan. 303/1 Some two hundred and fifty apostles of the *knee-breeched cultus.
1833Penny Cycl. II. 75/2 Another [species of antelope] differs from the general type in the possession of *knee-brushes.
1936H. M. & A. Stone Marriage Manual vii. 249 The woman in the so-called ‘*knee-chest’ position, that is kneeling face downward. 1968R. Kyle Love Lab. ix. 127 The arm can be set for only two positions, the supine and knee-chest.
1882Besant All Sorts xii, The brave [Salvation Army] warriors were now in full blast, and the fighting, ‘*knee-drill’, singing..were at their highest.
1898Allbutt's Syst. Med. V. 768 If the patient..assume the *knee-elbow position for a short time, the dulness disappears.
1827Sporting Mag. XX. 73 F. Bacon..called it the *knee evil, and seemed to consider it as a new complaint among race⁓horses.
1674Dryden Prol. open. New House 27 The dangling *knee-fringe and the bib-cravat.
1706Phillips, *Knee-grass, a sort of Herb.
1869Boutell Arms & Arm. vii. (1874) 113 These secondary defences were entitled coudières and genouillières, elbow-guards, that is, and *knee-guards. 1894H. Speight Nidderdale 208 Upon the knee-guards are depicted small raised shields.
1908Animal Managem. 150 Grazing should be afforded at every opportunity, and for this purpose *knee-hobbling is the best plan to adopt.
1808–18Jamieson, *Knee-ill, a disease of cattle, affecting their joints.
1884Knight Dict. Mech. Suppl., *Knee-iron, an angle-iron at the junction of timbers in a frame.
1876Foster Phys. (1888) 913 Striking the tendon below the patella gives rise to a sudden extension of the leg, known as the *knee-jerk. 1897Allbutt's Syst. Med. II. 367 The physiological deep reflex called the ‘knee-jerk’ or ‘patellar reflex’. 1951J. Holloway Lang. & Intelligence v. 79 The knee-jerk reflex may be more or less rapid. 1963N.Y. Times 7 Oct. 30 The place has always been full of liberals... In Washington, we call them crack-pots, knee-jerks, do-gooders. 1969Time 30 May 22/3 ‘What you have here,’ he said, ‘is the opposite of the knee-jerk liberal—the knee-jerk conservative.’ 1970Daily Tel. 2 June 19 In spite of knee-jerk reactions speculating on a Swiss franc revaluation, the Swiss franc never reached its ‘ceiling’ against the dollar. 1973Washington Post 5 Apr. B. 2 There is also some tired business about ‘educating abroad’ and a knee-jerk Mafia joke because Candoli is Italian.
1898J. Hutchinson Archives Surg. IX. 135 His *Knee-jump was poor.
1895Montgomery Ward Catal. 483/3 Horsehide leggings, either ‘*knee’ or ‘thigh’ lengths. 1897Sears, Roebuck Catal. 240/1 Ladies'..Union suit..shaped form fitting waist, knee length. 1909Daily Chron. 6 Jan. 7/1 Both sexes wear deerskin breeches and knee-length coats. 1922Joyce Ulysses 517 To lace up crisscrossed to knee-length the dressy kid footwear. 1958B. Nichols Sweet & Twenties xvi. 206 The taste of the twenties was not entirely represented by knee-length frocks and bobbed fringes. 1966Guardian 25 July 6/2 A hovering knee-length is generally expected to be the winter norm. 1967Punch 4 Jan. 1/1 The lengths of female laid bare by minis are apt to be covered anew by costly knee- and thigh-length boots, thick tights and miscellaneous ‘warms’.
1889T. Hardy Mayor Casterbr. xliii, Fresh leggings, *knee-naps, and corduroys.
1666Lond. Gaz. No. 68/1 One [Fly-boat] of 300 Tuns, with..Deal, *Knee-pieces, and other Oak timber for ships. 1677–83[see knee-rafter]. 1869Boutell Arms & Arm. x. (1874) 190 The pouleyns, genouillières, or knee-pieces became general before the close of the 13th century.
1884Miller Plant-n. 231 Pinus Mugho var. nana, *Knee Pine.
1858J. Grantham Iron Ship-Building 217 Bulkheads to be five in number;..to have brackets, or *knee plates, riveted horizontally against the ship's side. 1969Jrnl. Abstr. Brit. Ship. Res. Assoc. XXIV. 218 (heading) Determination of the effectiveness of a knee plate by plastic theory.
1889Science (U.S.) XIII. 176/2 The trees [swamp cypresses] which grew upon high ground failed to develop any *knee processes.
1884F. J. Britten Watch & Clockm. 135 *Knee Punch, a cranked punch for removing plugs from cylinders.
1677–83Moxon Mech. Exerc. (1703) 162 A piece of Timber growing angularly, or crooked..being made out of one piece of stuff: It is called a Knee-piece, or *Knee-rafter. 1845Parker Gloss. Archit., Knee-rafter, a rafter in the principal truss of a roof.
1888Syd. Soc. Lex., *Knee reflex. Same as knee-jerk. 1898J. Hutchinson Archives Surg. IX. 336 His knee-reflexes were good.
1599A. M. tr. Gabelhouer's Bk. Physicke 224/1 Heerwith must the Woman annoyncte herselfe in and rownde about her Navle, and *kneeshive.
1794T. Davis Agric. Wilts. in Archæol. Rev. (1888) Mar., Knee-sick, wheat is *knee-sick [when] weak in the stalk and dropping on the first joint.
1966New Yorker 5 Nov. 128 ‘How's the World Treating You’, an English comedy at the Music Box, is full of *knee-slappers like that one. 1970W. Burroughs, Jr. Speed 84, I needed a phone book which the guard thought a real knee slapper.
1875Scribner's Monthly June 208/1 Particularly when that animal's foundered and *knee-sprung. 1905J. W. Axe Horse I. 74 When the knee is displaced forward in advance of the vertical line it is said to be ‘bowed’, or the horse ‘stands over’, ‘knee sprung’.
1903L. A. Flemming Pract. Tanning 51 When in just the right condition, the skins are *knee-staked for the purpose of softening them to get rid of the stretch.
1876Stainer & Barrett Dict. Mus. Terms, *Knee Stop, a mechanical contrivance on harmoniums, by which certain shutters are made to open gradually when the knees are pressed against levers. 1897Mus. Times 1 Jan. 57/1 American organ..11 stops including two knee-stops.
1812Sporting Mag. XL. 14 A significant dangle of my *knee-strap. a1892W. Whitman To Working Men 6 The awl and knee-strap.
1712Addison Spect. No. 317 ⁋4 Tied my *Knee-strings, and washed my Hands. 1768–74Tucker Lt. Nat. (1834) I. 67 When we set ourselves to think intensely, few of us leave our limbs entirely at rest;..some play with their buttons, some twist their knee-strings. 1852R. S. Surtees Sponge's Sp. Tour (1893) 286 The knee-strings were generally also loose.
1882Ogilvie, *Knee-swell.
1890Eng. Illustr. Mag. Christm. No. 157 He..took a seat at the *knee table.
1825H. T. B. in Hone Every-day Bk. I. 563 *Knee-ties depending half⁓way down to the ancles.
1896Farmer & Henley Slang IV. 119/1 *Knee-trembler, a standing embrace; a fast-fuck; a perpendicular. 1965G. Melly Owning-Up vi. 67 A member of the band..gave her a knee tremble at the back of the building. 1966F. Shaw et al. Lern Yerself Scouse 62 We wen up der jigger fera kneetrembler, we went courting in lovers' lane. 1971B. W. Aldiss Soldier Erect 18 They would be going to the pub for a pint and afterwards Nelson would get her against our back wall for a knee-trembler... He claimed that knee-tremblers were the most exhausting way of having sex.
▪ II. knee, v.|niː|
Forms: 1 cneowian, 2 knewien, 3 kno(u)wien; 6– knee.
[In sense 1, OE. cnéowian, f. cnéow, knee n. Cf. OHG. chniuwen, knewen, MHG. kniuwen, kniewen, knien, Ger. knien. But the orig. verb does not appear after 13th c.; the existing vb. being a new formation of 16th c. from knee n.]
1. a. intr. To go down on, or bend, the knee or knees; to kneel or bow, esp. in token of reverence or submission. Const. to (a person), whence indirect passive to be kneed to.
c1000ælfric Hom. II. 154 Benedictus..mid wope on his ᵹebedum cneowode. c1175Lamb. Hom. 121 Þet folc..knewede to-foren him on bismer. c1250Passion our Lord 387 in O.E. Misc. 48 Seþþe hi knowede and seyde, hayl gywene king.
1577tr. Bullinger's Decades (1592) 122 To bowe downe is to cap and to knee, to ducke with the heade. 1612W. Parkes Curtaine-Dr. (1876) 42 The Lawyer whilst he liues may..be capt and kneed to like a Prince.
b. trans. with complement or cognate obj.
1607Shakes. Cor. v. i. 5 Go..fall downe, and knee The way into his mercy. 1864Ld. Derby Iliad xxii. 409 Knee me no knees, vile hound! nor prate to me Of parents! 1869Pall Mall G. 22 July 4 It was a rare sight to see the throng..kneeing their way up stair by stair.
2. trans. To supplicate, or do obeisance to, by kneeling or bending the knee. arch.
1592Nashe P. Penilesse (1842) 45 Thou has capd and kneed him..for a chipping. 1605Shakes. Lear ii. iv. 217, I could as well be brought To knee his Throne, and Squire⁓like pension beg. 1784Cowper Task vi. 937 Sycophants, who knee Thy name, adoring. 1888R. Buchanan City of Dream viii. 162 They knee strange gods.
3. a. To strike or touch with the knee; spec., to strike a person (esp. in the groin) deliberately with the knee. Also fig., implying foul play.
1892Pall Mall G. 23 Mar. 2/1 B...whilst defending the College goal..was ‘kneed a violent blow in the groin’. Ibid., P.B. received injuries in an Association game..it is fair to infer that the injury was received from kneeing the ball. 1899M. Hewlett in Blackw. Mag. Feb. 333 Evenly forward she came..without so much as kneeing her skirt. 1953Time 20 July 13/1 Like most successful rough and tumble fighters, Senator Joe McCarthy always presses in, and is adept at forensic kneeing, gouging and butting. 1955[see butt-end v. 2]. 1967K. Giles Death in Diamonds ix. 176 He belted the P.C., kneed another in the stomach and tried to bolt. 1968‘R. Raine’ Night of Hawk xxxvi. 174, I..knee'd him in the groin. 1972J. Mosedale Football ix. 122 Guyon..spun round and kneed Halas, breaking three of his ribs. 1973N.Y. Times 6 Oct. 4/5 One plainclothesman repeatedly kneeing Mr Ogden in the back.
b. To urge (a horse) on by pressing the knees against its flanks. U.S.
1924C. E. Mulford Rustlers' Valley iii. 33 Then he..turned his own animal southward and kneed it forward. 1926― Cassidy's Protégé x. 133 The herder,..kneeing his horse, rode swiftly back and forth several times for a hundred feet each way.
4. Carpentry. To fasten with a knee or knees.
1711W. Sutherland Shipbuild. Assist. 71 To be Dove⁓tail'd into the Clamps and double Knee'd. c1850Rudim. Navig. (Weale) 129 The clamps..are..supplied, the beams knee'd.
5. Sc.
a. trans. To give a knee-like or angular bend to.
b. intr. To bend in an angle.
1808–18Jamieson s.v., The wind is said to knee corn, when it breaks it down so that it strikes root by the stalk. 1825–80Ibid., To knee irne, to bend iron into an angular form. Ibid., To knee, to bend in the middle, as a nail in being driven into the wall. 1851Jrnl. R. Agric. Soc. XII. i. 117 When bulky the culms knee over above the first joint from the ground.
6. trans. To make a cut in the knee of (a beast), in order to disable it.
1890L. D'Oyle Notches 37 (U.S.) ‘Dandy’ took out his knife, and, had I not been close by, would have ‘kneed’ the steer before letting him up.
7. To renew the knees of (a garment). U.S. and dial.
1847H. Howe Hist. Coll. Ohio 348 After wearing out their woollen pantaloons, [they] were obliged to have them seated and kneed with buckskin. 1891R. Kerr Maggie o' Moss 36 Corduroys! and them sae clouted, Backside, foreside, knee'd an a'.
Hence ˈkneeing vbl. n.
a1240Ureisun in Cott. Hom. 199 Þu miht forȝelden..Al mi swinc and mi sor and mine kneouwunge. |