genuflection definition |Dictionary.com

Related Searches

on Ask.com

genuflect

why do catholics genuflect

Synonyms of genuflection

curtsy, kowtow, nod, obeisance,

Genuflection

5 dictionary results for: genuflection

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This

gen·u·flec·tion

[jen-yoo-flek-shuh

n] Pronunciation Key

–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; < ML genūflexiōn- (s. of genūflexiō). See genuflect, -ion

]

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.

CITE THIS SOURCE|PRINT

American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

gen·u·flect (jěn'yə-flěkt') Pronunciation Key
intr.v. gen·u·flect·ed, gen·u·flect·ing, gen·u·flects

To bend the knee or touch one knee to the floor or ground, as in worship.
To be servilely respectful or deferential; grovel.

[Late Latin genūflectere : Latin genū, knee; see genu-¹ in Indo-European roots + Latin flectere, to bend.]

gen'u·flec'tion (-flěk'shən) n.

(Download Now or Buy the Book)
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

CITE THIS SOURCE|PRINT

Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
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."

CITE THIS SOURCE|PRINT

WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This