genuflect
verb /ˈdʒenjuflekt/
/ˈdʒenjuflekt/
(formal)Verb Forms
| present simple I / you / we / they genuflect | /ˈdʒenjuflekt/ /ˈdʒenjuflekt/ |
| he / she / it genuflects | /ˈdʒenjuflekts/ /ˈdʒenjuflekts/ |
| past simple genuflected | /ˈdʒenjuflektɪd/ /ˈdʒenjuflektɪd/ |
| past participle genuflected | /ˈdʒenjuflektɪd/ /ˈdʒenjuflektɪd/ |
| -ing form genuflecting | /ˈdʒenjuflektɪŋ/ /ˈdʒenjuflektɪŋ/ |
- [intransitive] to move your body into a lower position by bending one or both knees, as a sign of respect in a church
- [intransitive] genuflect (to somebody/something) (disapproving) to show too much respect to somebody/something
Word Originmid 17th cent. (in the sense ‘bend (the knee)’): from ecclesiastical Latin genuflectere, from Latin genu ‘knee’ + flectere ‘to bend’.