n. [ OE. kne, cneo, As. cneó, cneów; akin to OS. knio, kneo, OFries. knī, G. & D. knie, OHG. chniu, chneo, Icel. knē, Sw. knä, Dan. knæ, Goth. kniu, L. genu, Gr. go`ny, Skr. jānu, √231. Cf. Genuflection. ] 1. In man, the joint in the middle part of the leg. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (Anat.) (a) The joint, or region of the joint, between the thigh and leg. (b) In the horse and allied animals, the carpal joint, corresponding to the wrist in man. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. (Mech. & Shipbuilding) A piece of timber or metal formed with an angle somewhat in the shape of the human knee when bent. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. A bending of the knee, as in respect or courtesy. [ 1913 Webster ]

Give them title, knee, and approbation. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

Knee breeches. See under Breeches. --
Knee holly,
Knee holm (Bot.), butcher's broom. --
Knee joint. See in the Vocabulary. --
Knee timber, timber with knees or angles in it. --
Knee tribute, or
Knee worship, tribute paid by kneeling; worship by genuflection. [ Obs. ] “Knee tribute yet unpaid.” Milton. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. To supplicate by kneeling. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

Fall down, and knee
The way into his mercy. Shak [ 1913 Webster ]

n. 1. (Zool.) A tuft or brush of hair on the knees of some species of antelopes and other animals; -- chiefly used in the plural. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (Zool.) A thick mass or collection of hairs on the legs of bees, by aid of which they carry the collected pollen to the hive or nest; -- usually in the plural. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. to break the knees of, especially by shooting in the kneecap; -- often done by criminal or terrorist groups as a warning or punishment.
Syn. -- knee-cap. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

n. 1. (Anat.) A roundish, flattened, sesamoid bone in the tendon in front of the knee joint; the patella; the kneepan. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. A cap or protection for the knee.

a. Obsequious; fawning; cringing. “Knee-crooking knave.” Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. 1. Having knees;- used chiefly in composition; as, in-kneed; out-kneed; weak-kneed. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (Bot.) Geniculated; forming an obtuse angle at the joints, like the knee when a little bent; as, kneed grass. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. 1. Rising to the knees; knee-high; as, water or snow knee-deep. [ 1913 Webster ]

Grass knee-deep within a month. Milton. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Sunk to the knees; as, men knee-deep in water. [ 1913 Webster ]

Where knee-deep the trees were standing. Longfellow. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Rising or reaching upward to the knees; as, the water is knee-high. [ 1913 Webster ]

. (Physiol.) A jerk or forward kick of the lower part of the leg produced by a blow or sudden strain upon the patellar tendon of the knee, which causes a sudden contraction of the quadriceps muscle; the patellar reflex. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]