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genuflection

[jen-yoo-flek-shuhn]

Origin

noun

an act of bending the knee or touching it to the ground in reverence or worship.

Also, especially British, gen·u·flex·ion.

Origin:
1520–30; < Medieval Latin genūflexiōn- (stem of genūflexiō). See genuflect, -ion

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Genuflection is always a great word to know.

So is callithumpian. Does it mean:

a children's mummer's parade, as on the Fourth of July, with prizes for the best costumes.

a calculus or concretion found in the stomach or intestines of certain animals, esp. ruminants, formerly reputed to be an effective remedy for poison.

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Collins

World English Dictionary

genuflect (ˈdʒɛnjʊˌflɛkt)

—vb
1.	to act in a servile or deferential manner
2.	RC Church to bend one or both knees as a sign of reverence, esp when passing before the Blessed Sacrament

[C17: from Medieval Latin genūflectere, from Latin genu knee + flectere to bend]

genu'flection

—n

genu'flexion

—n

'genuflector

—n

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Etymonline

Word Origin & History

genuflection

1526, from L.L. genuflectionem (nom. genuflexio), from stem of genuflectere "genuflect," from L. genu "knee" (cf. Skt. janu, Gk. gonu, Goth. kniu, O.E. cneo) + flectere "to bend."

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"Men are rewarded for learning the practice of violence in virtually any sphere of activity by money, admiration, recognition, respect, and the genuflection of others honoring their sacred and proven masculinity. In male culture, police are heroic and so are outlaws; males who enforce standards are heroic and so are those who violate them."

-Andrea Dworkin

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genuflection

gen·u·flec·tion