genuflect

Definition

To bend the knee, as in servitude.

Etymology

PIE word *ǵónu From around 1620–1630 from Medieval Latin genūflectō (“I bend the knee”) equivalent to the Latin genū (“knee”) + flectō (“to bend”).

Example Sentences

• "At high Mass the deacon and subdeacon stand on either side, genuflect too, and answer."
• "First you get down on your knees, fiddle with your rosaries, / Bow your head with great respect, and / genuflect, genuflect, genuflect."
• "She took the holy water on her fingertips and made the sign of the cross, fleetingly touched her wet fingertips to her parched lips. Candles flickered redly before the saints, the Christ on his cross. Kay genuflected before entering her row and then knelt on the hard wooden rail of the pew to wait for her call to Communion."

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